Irresistible Forces
by Poisonchik88
Summary: Reid Garwin wasn't foolish.He didn't believe in soulmates or that a woman who had been created to be his perfect match, even existed.But there was no denying that the Book of Damnation was telling him or what the scent of her was doing to his head.UPDATED
1. Hidden Passage Prologue

**Title: **Irresistible Forces

**Summary:**Reid Garwin wasn't naïve. He wasn't foolish. He didn't believe in soulmates –life mates or that a woman who had been created to be his perfect match, the other half of himself, even existed – but there was no denying that the Book of Damnation was telling him or what the scent of her was doing to his head -not to mention his other body parts.

**Rating:**PG-13 ish to R.

* * *

"Love takes hostages"**_- Neil Gaiman _**

* * *

_In the Book of Damnation, there is a hidden passage on the soul mate principle, which is only revealed when the power is at its prime. It suggests that each "brother" has a mortal soul mate. Because when Hecate chose their families to be the guardian of the magick, another half was designed as a survival mechanism. Someone who can help balance their over abundance of power. _

_The "brothers" can literally cannot survive without their mates... Not for long.. They would go mad without the control their mates provided. The soul mate is somebody they feel a connection to, and can share thoughts with through simple contact. And once they see their other half, it's automatic, like someone flipped a switch inside them. _

_They just know it is their destiny whether they like it or not. Soulmates is involuntary; they don't even have to like the person when they meet them. They may be completely wrong for them in every way; wrong temperament, wrong age. But they know they will never be completely happy again without them_.

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A/n: That's the prologue , I hope it gives you an idea about what the story is going to be about! :) The first chapter should be up within the next hour or so.

Thanks for reading and hope you review!

D.

* * *


	2. Fantasy Lovers

**Title: **Irresistible Forces

**Summary:**Reid Garwin wasn't naïve. He wasn't foolish. He didn't believe in soulmates –life mates or that a woman who had been created to be his perfect match, the other half of himself, even existed – but there was no denying that the Book of Damnation was telling him or what the scent of her was doing to his head -not to mention his other body parts.

**Rating:**PG-13 ish to R.

"Love takes hostages"_**\- Neil Gaiman**_

* * *

_In the Book of Damnation, there is a hidden passage on the soul mate principle, which is only revealed when the power is at its prime. It suggests that each "brother" has a mortal soul mate. Because when Hecate chose their families to be the guardian of the magick, another half was designed as a survival mechanism. Someone who can help balance their over abundance of power. The "brothers" can literally cannot survive without their mates... Not for long.. They would go mad without the control their mates provided. The soul mate is somebody they feel a connection to, and can share thoughts with through simple contact. And once they see their other half, it's automatic, like someone flipped a switch inside them. They just know it is their destiny whether they like it or not. Soulmates is involuntary; they don't even have to like the person when they meet them. They may be completely wrong for them in every way; wrong temperament, wrong age. But they know they will never be completely happy again without them_.

* * *

Reid Garwin had awakened again for the ninth time in a row with visions of a woman in his head. She had floated into his senses on a fragrant mist. Her skin had been warm and wet, her flesh firm and slick as satin. He'd woken up hot and hard in a tangle of sweat-soaked sheets. There'd been a tingle of her kiss on his lips, the smell of her scent lilacs, ink, and paper and molten hunger in his veins.

He was left with a memory of long dark hair, a wide, full mouth, long legs, clear cerulean eyes framed by dark lashes and lithe movement. He stretched his sore muscles with a frown. The dreams always left him tired, drained and more than a little cranky.

He rolled over as his dorm door opened, and in walked a grinning Tyler already dressed and showered. Quickly he peaked over at his nightstand before burying his head underneath his pillows. It was only 7 am. Tyler really needed to learn how to sleep in.

He groaned in protest as Tyler yanked on his covers, pulling them off the bed before hurriedly backing away with a startled yelp. "You really need to start wearing clothes to bed." Tyler grumbled in disgust, turning his back on his naked best friend.

"And deny you the glorious view of my fine ass? I think not." He replied smugly Even half sleep he was still a smart ass. He sat up and rubbed the grit from his eyes.

"What's with the wake up call anyway birthday boy?" He asked as he reached over his bed for his boxers and tugged them on. Now all he needed was pants, shirt and a red bull and he was good to go.

"We have plans with Caleb and Pogue this morning remember? Birthday breakfast? Ringing any bells?"

Reid nodded and flashed Tyler a lazy grin. "Couldn't forget about your birthday breakfast baby boy. Just let me find some clothes and we are out of here."

Tyler rolled his eyes and settled into the computer chair, he knew how long it took Reid Garwin to get dressed. Seriously, he took longer than Kate did and that was saying something.

"Twenty minutes top Reid." Tyler held up a hand and cut him off before he could even open his mouth. "And no I'm telling you what does and doesn't look okay. You never listen to me anyway."

"That's because you have no fashion sense." Reid replied automatically as he dug through his closet, and the mountains of wrinkled clothes he had thrown in a ball in there.

Tyler almost snorted, no fashion sense his ass.

* * *

Pogue tossed his sketchbook across the bed and slipped on his shoes, and sat on the bed. He should be tired since he was up till almost midnight, drawing and sketching the vision that invaded his head every night and sometimes If he was lucky during his daydreams. Moreover, it had taken him until a little past three thirty to fall asleep. Yet he was insanely awake and his mind churned with thoughts of _her_ and Tyler's ascension. He glanced at the clock it was almost 7:30.

He had already taken a shower, placed Tyler's card and present on the desk next to door, and he managed to draw two more sketches of his dream woman. Thinking all that would help him turn his brain off and help him not feel so damn agitated but none of it helped. He still felt like a panther locked into a cage, which was just itching to get out. He hasn't seen his mystery woman in almost three days and it was making him more than a little agitated

Deciding that a little early morning T.V. would hypnotize him into a less restless mood. Pogue picked up the TV remote and pointed it at the set. His finger froze on the power button when _she _appeared in the glass.

He hadn't seen her for several days, and had begun to think she'd disappeared for

good. Her face filled the television screen, those beautiful eyes looking right at him.

Pogue stuffed a pillow behind his back and leaned against the headboard, prepared to watch her for as long as she remained.

A coy smile touched her lips. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back. She touched her chin with one fingertip then slowly drew that fingertip down her neck. As her finger moved, more of her body came into view. A long, ivory neck, creamy shoulders, the slope of her breasts.

He'd never seen so much of her it was always just her sweet face with that long yellow hair and those deep brown colored eyes surrounded by thick, dark lashes. Her chin was sharp and stubborn. She had a peaches-and-cream complexion that was flawless but for one beauty mark to the right of her lower lip. The beauty spot added a saucy air of wantonness to a mouth that was already more than amazing. Those full, ripe lips that were made to be kissed. A man could make a full-time job of worshiping that soft, sensuous mouth.

Pogue sat up a bit straighter. He wondered how far she'd take that finger… Just as his mind started to wander and fill with naughty images, she vanished with a loud pop, leaving Pogue even more frustrated and angry.

Cursing violently at the image and fate in general, he rose from the bed and stormed into the bathroom to take another shower.

A cold one.

* * *

Caleb Danvers stared out the window of the diner, his mind wandering as he waited for Pogue, Tyler, and Reid. He jump back startled for a split second as she appeared in the diner window, obscuring the park lot landscape behind her and than he grinned. The first time he'd seen her she scared the hell out of him. He had been daydreaming during the last day of history. Once he had stopped panting for breath, he had decided he was either dreaming or going crazy. He would have accepted either as explanation for a woman only he can see hovering in mid air like a projection on the chalkboard. He never knew when she would appear. He had no way to make her appear either. He tried dozens of time. She just… arrived without any notice. Sometimes, she would just appear infront of him like a ghost when he was daydreaming and other times when he was fast sleep she would appear and take over his dream.

He hadn't been able to make out all the details of her before, but over time he'd been able to see her clearly. She had sunburned color hair that cascaded down her back in soft waves, big lily green eyes, skin that is as translucent as clear quartz, an oval face and a farmers tan. Her body…ah, her body. She always wore an oversized tee-shirt and pair of ripped Levi jeans. That didn't hinder him from knowing she had a voluptuous body with full breasts and wide hips.

He wished she'd turn around so he could see her ass.

He stayed still and stared at up at his own personal disillusion. She stood underneath a large oak tree. Her eyes were closed, her face tilted up to the sky. Her hair flowed around her face, as if a gentle breeze touched it. She looked happy and peaceful.

She opened her eyes, looked directly at him…,and smiled. The vision faded and was replaced with Sarah's rapidly moving hand waving up and down infront of his face. He was startled by the anger that welled up in him at the loss of the vision.

Maybe he needed to speak to Gorman; something was seriously going haywire in his system. He was angry that his girlfriend had chased away a figment of the imagination. He shook his had and sent a thin smile Sarah's way as she settled into the booth. Sarah was perfect for him; she has the same goals and the same dreams. She accepted the supernatural side of him without hesitation. She was everything he had hoped for. So why was he pinning away for a figment of his imagination?

"What had you so lost?" She teased as she placed Tyler's birthday card down, and under the saltshaker to prevent the fan above their heads from blowing it across the table.

Caleb gave her his most charming smile. "You of course."

A delightful blush colored her cheeks, and her grin spread from ear to ear. She was easy to make happy, that was another thing he loved about her. Everything about her was nice, simple, and serene.

"Where's Kate?" He asked, looking around surprised. Usually Kate and Sarah were inseparable, it was like a universal law wherever Kate was, Sarah was too and vise versa.

"She had to go pick up a friend from the train station apparently her childhood best friend is going to complete her senior year here." Sarah said excitedly "She gave me Tyler's card to give to him. Plus she and Pogue aren't talking."

Caleb rolled his eyes and groaned, "She's not going to come and ask me for advice again is she?" He fought back a shudder; he had nightmares for weeks last time.

"I don't think so unless you can fill her in on Pogue's sex life."

Caleb nearly chocked on his water, scowling as Sarah laughed mischievously. She obviously planned that one.

"Thanks for that image."

She kissed him on the cheek. "No problem."

* * *

Kelly-Ann "Kelly" Paisley folded her arms across her stomach and stared out the window. A soft mist fell, blurring the scene on the other side of the glass. How appropriate. A gray weather day perfectly matched the gloom she was feeling inside perfectly. A glance at her watch showed her she had been waiting almost hour and an half for her friend. Closing her eyes, Kelly tilted her head back and released what was supposed to be a deep calming breath. She was tired and achy and more than a little pissed. She hadn't slept. Those damned dreams. Dreams of a boy with dark hair and wild brown eyes , and strong, gentle hands that held her close.

"Kel!" A voice called out from the huge crowd standing at the loading docks of The Ipswich Train Station. Kelly looked up and around to located the origin of the voice. She smiled brightly when she found it.

"Katie!" she yelled back as she ran to her and threw her arms around the girl in an exuberant hug. She had known Kate since primary school when they both went to Brogden Primary in Wayne County, Pennsylvania before her father made millions in a business deal and followed the money to Ipswich. They kept in touch ever since and spent every summer since her move back in their hometown of Honesdale.

"I feel like it's been ages since I saw you instead of two weeks," Kate Tunney said with a laugh." She grabbed one of Kelly's duffel bags and with long strides started leading her toward the car saying something about rain.

"So where's the legendary Pogue?" Kelly asked with a grin raising an eyebrow as Katie scowled and started grumbling. She opened her mouth to ask, but seemed to think better of it and wisely kept her mouth shut. The last thing she wanted was for Katie to start shouting, cursing Pogue's name and throwing a mini tantrum in the train station –again. She grimaced, Kate's tantrums were a thing to be frightened of, and it was smart to avoid them at all costs.

"I'm starving!" Kelly announced, quickly trying to distract the mumbling and cursing Katie. "Why don't you drive us to that hotel diner you bragged about?"

_Bingo! _She cheered, as Katie suddenly smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. "You are going to love it! They have the best coffee," Katie bragged as she grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the car. "Plus you can meet Rico, the hottest waiter since Eddie."

"Since Eddie?"

Katie gave a cat that ate the canary grin and nodded. "Drop dead gorgeous!" She linked her arms through Kate's and smiled. "Well than what are we waiting for, lead the way!"

* * *

"Why are we doing this again?" Pogue mumbled to Caleb as he slid into the booth opposite of his best friend. "I mean, I love Tyler but 7 in the morning is just a little too much."

"Do you wanna be the one to tell Tyler that he can't have his birthday breakfast?" Reid asked with an arched eyebrow. Pogue shook his head, his hair flying every which way. "I didn't think so," Reid continued as he squished in next to him , elbowing the larger boy in the side when he refused to give an inch.

"I'm just as tired as you , you know." Reid mumbled, picking his head up off the back of the booth to look around. "Where's everyone else?"

"Sarah is in the bathroom," Caleb said with a yawn, it really was early. "Katie had to go pick up a friend but apparently," He stopped a moment to grin wickedly at Pogue. "She's not coming because Pogue's sex drives leaves something to be desired."

Reid snorted into his juice, as Pogue glowered at his "brother" before running the bad boy image by giving a loud yawn and a huge stretch. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He added, resisting the urge to beat Caleb with the salt shaker. Damn him and his way too nosy girlfriend.

"That seems to be the problem." Reid said with a wiry grin. He'd been waiting to get this dig in for months.

Pogue smacked Reid in the back of the head just as a grinning Tyler entered the diner.  
"And the breakfast birthday can now officially begin, for the guest of honor has finally arrived," Reid remarked dryly as Tyler took the seat across from him and beside Caleb. "After getting the rest of us up at the crack of dawn."

All was forgotten as they welcomed the birthday boy with open arms, each of them secretly staring at the clock as the minutes ticked by. Tyler would ascend at exactly 11:15.

They didn't know the hell they were in for or what they had set in motion. For at exactly 11:15 am, the soul mate principal would kick into overdrive and the real hell would begin.

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A/n: That is the end of chapter 1! It's not as good as I would like but I wanted you to have a feel for what was happening and how they were seeing their soulmates. Chapter two is almost done! It was originally part of chapter one but than it made of twenty pages, so I cut it in half.

Anyway! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed and that you review!

D.


	3. Love , Lies and Soulmates Part One

_A/n: I'm sorry this took so long to get out. That will never happen again. **Hurricane Dolly** swept through and knocked out the power lines for a while so I had no way of updating this any sooner. **Again I apologize.**_

_This chapter is almost thirty pages long so I'm splitting into two parts.** Enjoy!**_

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_**Chapter three (A): Love , Lies and Soulmates  
**_

Evelyn Danvers was sitting in her comfortable chair by the fire, but she was anything but comfortable. She closed her eyes hoping it would shake her feelings of lethargy and dizziness bought on by too many drinks that washed down a handful or was it two? Of her favorite pills. They were essential to her sanity. She called them the three V's. Valium, Vicodin, and Vodka Oh how she lowed vodka.

The nausea crawled up the back of her throat like thousands of tiny spiders but she swallowed it down. She leaned back against the chair chills ran up and down her entire body. The effects of a drunken haze obscured her thoughts; the glass in her hand was empty. She oscillated between alcoholic indifference and motherly worry. And the former was winning tonight.

"I think you've had enough Madam." Gorman muttered the traces of pity echoing in his voice. His withered and old hand gently pulled the glass out of her grip and placed it out of her reach.

Evelyn's head lolled to the side with the full intention of sleeping where she sat until Caleb came home, but she took one look at her servants face and all traces of sleep vanished. Despite her alcohol induced fog she knew something was wrong.

"Gorman?" She inquired her dark blue eyes pinning Gorman in place.

The old man jerked eyes jerked up to stare into glassy and bewildered dark blue ones. He sighed, "It's nothing, madam. It's late, you should go to bed." Evelyn felt beginning strings of fear as Gorman's voice took on a husky and trembling quality. He was afraid or at the very least deeply worried.

With great effort Evelyn struggled to sit upright, swatting away Gorman's helping head. Once she pulled up herself up as far as her body was, willing to let her, she narrowed her eyes at Gorman.

"What's going on?" She demanded trying hard to focus on his swaying outline.

Gorman refused to meet her eyes as his spoke and his hands quivered in his pockets. Whatever he was going to tell her, she knew she wasn't going to like.

"It's... Tyler's Ascension tonight." He started darting an anxious look at her face. Evelyn nodded, she knew that Caleb had told her this afternoon when he explained why he wouldn't be home. "That's the last of them and than….." Gorman trailed of with a shudder.

Evelyn tried to chase the vodka-induced cobwebs from her head and process just what Gorman was trying to say. He didn't mean – he couldn't. The fear seemed to wrap around her like a blanket.

" Tonight ? When Gorman?" She asked desperately, a strong motherly concern breaking through her vodka-spawned fog.

Gorman flashed a sympathetic look her way with his lifeless looking grey eyes and walked over to the couch nearest her. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as he pushed the heavy curtain aside a bit and peered out into the darkness. Nothing was out there, at least not yet. He looked back at Evelyn. "I don't know when, but soon."

He glanced up at her with shocked eyes as he slowly handed Gorman a half-filled glass of the strongest whiskey she had laying by her chair.

"God help them." She whispered. The bonding process was painful. Plain and it simple it hurt like a bitch. She would know. It turned you inside out and left you vulnerable and exposed in a way that still made her skin crawl.

She just hoped it wasn't as painful for them as it was for her.

* * *

"Jez…Earth to Jezzie." Jezebel "Jezzie" LeGrande turned her gaze from her book to glare at her best friend since kindergarten Maria Singer who was currently sitting on her the newly placed bed and painting her nails a deep cherry red.

"Can't you just let me sulk in peace?" She asked sarcastically pushing her long dark hair out of her face. "It's bad enough that I'm now forced to have a roommate, but now you expect me to be chipper about it?"

Maria rolled her eyes and blew out an aggravated breath. Really Jezzie was just too uptight for her own good. "Okay, you, listen to me. You need some human interaction from time to time. And not buried in here all by yourself with all those books. It will be good for you. So quit moping."

Jez raised an eyebrow at her heated friend and nodded rather reluctantly "She couldn't be more opposite than me. Wild, impulsive, way too talkative, activist and a rich daddy's girl, and annoyingly blunt." She said with a slight whine. Maria kept reminding herself not to kill her best friend. She really hated whining. "From speaking with her online, she seems like a ditz."

Maria giggled and blew on her freshly painted nails. "I seriously doubt that. You can't be in the honors wing and not be smart."

She only responded by arching an eyebrow and saying dryly "Whatever you say." Turning her back on her friend and right back into her book.

Maria huffed. Jezzie really needed to get a boy. One who would challenge her and make her just a little bit crazy. She needed someone feral and reckless to bring just a little bit of chaos to her too strict life.

Maybe she should set her up with Kyle.

* * *

When one thinks of hell, he imagines a world of fire and horned beasts, carrying wicked, barbed spears with the heads of thousands of men impaled on it, cackling maniacally as they relish in the torments they distribute indiscriminately. At least that how he always imagined it but right now Tyler Simms was in hell and it was nothing like he imagined before. It was worse. He trembled convulsively in agony, he might have even screamed but he isn't sure. He just wants it to stop. He's sweating profusely, like the time Reid forced him to eat a hot pepper. The sweat caused strands of his newly dark blonde hair stuck to his forehead and his shirt to stick to his back. His entire body felt like it was on fire, like he was slowly burning to death. He gasped desperately for air but his lungs collapsed and imploded with every attempt he made. This time he's sure he screamed.

He was just begging for the pain to end. It felt like hundred of wild beasts were clawing at him, eating him alive, and ripping off chunks of his flesh. The physical pain was just the start of the torture. In his mind a myriad of voices were whispering, taunting, and trying to seduce him with promises of untold power. He wouldn't deny it. He wanted to give in; he wanted to give in so bad. He wouldn't.

He bucked up in pure anguish letting out a string of pain-wracked sobs as energy started to accumulate around his body, mind, and soul threatening to crush him under the unbearable weight of it all. He felt sick and it took all his might to swallow back the bile leaving a bitter, sour taste in his mouth.

The voices started to get louder and lost there seductive edge, they were outright shouting at him to just give in. Tyler's heart was burning and pulsing threatening to fail at given moment. The energy started to pour into him and wrapped around his body like the devil's snare. Right than and there Tyler believed it was. The more energy that came pouring into him the more painful it got and the harder it become for him to breath. He kicked out and tried to shout with what little oxygen he had.

And just like that the pain stopped. Tyler fell back down the ground with a thud groaning in pain. He heaved with chokes and heavy gasps. A heavy hand touched his shoulder and Tyler hissed in pain. His skin felt raw.

"You okay baby boy?" Reid asked worriedly make the corners of Tyler mouth twitch upward if only for a moment. It took all his energy to just simply nod his head.

"Happy birthday, man." Reid added as he helped the now grinning Tyler to his feet. He had come out of his Ascension alive, well, and powerful.

Caleb moved over his right and took his other arm helping him back to his car. It took all three of them to load the semi- consciousness Tyler into the back of the Hummer. The second he was settled into the seat exhaustion took hold and the world faded away.

Tyler regained consciousness as the door to Caleb's house slammed closed behind them and Caleb's anxious shout to watch his head.

It was Pogue who noticed he was awake. "Hey, there's the birthday boy." He muttered grunting as Reid immediately dropped Tyler's left leg to check for himself.

Tyler chuckled as Reid's anxious face suddenly filled his vision and he stared back into relieved icy blue eyes.

"Good now I don't have to carry your ass." Reid muttered ruffling Tyler's already disheveled hair, his cocky manner returning now that he knew his best friend was all right. Caleb hissed his name in outrage but Tyler knew Reid better – he was practically radiating with worry.

Tyler swayed on his feet when Pogue and Caleb set him down for the first time , but Reid quickly caught and steadied him before deciding to stand right next to him just incase he suddenly toppled over again. With the pounding in his head and the nausea, creeping up his throat it was a good possibility he would.

"Gorman has beds ready up stairs." All four heads whipped over the see Mrs. Danvers leaning against the doorframe an empty glass in her right head and a worried look on her face.

"We got it covered." Pogue offered politely sending a hesitant smile in his de-facto-mother's direction. He felt Reid tense behind and turned to look, Alarmed at the deathly ill looking Tyler leaning up against a panicked Reid.

"You okay Tyler?" Reid asked worriedly as he placed a hand on his "brothers" shoulder.

Tyler blinked cold sweat out of his eyes and stared woozily at the double image of

his best friend standing before him. "Which one's asking?" He muttered to himself much to Reid chagrin as he licked his dry lips. "I don't feel that great, Reid's."

"Tyler!" Caleb and Reid shouted in alarm as he fell backward. Reid grunted in pain as Tyler's full weight landed on him and his back made contact with the hard floor, but his arms tightened around the bigger body and held grimly on as a protesting wail sounded from Tyler... "Tyler! It's me, you're alright." Reid shouted frantically his tone taking on a hint of hysteria as she glanced at Caleb, with full-fledged panic in his eyes along with the hope that Caleb could fix this. Reid swayed as he struggled to get a shoulder under Tyler's armpit and then he was rising unsteadily with Caleb to support the barely conscious boy between them.

A heavy thump announced Pogue falling to his knees on the floor infront of the boys. His pain filled groan-matched Tyler's wail. "Pogue!" Caleb shouted in distress as he looked over at the pain wracked and withering Pogue. Without warning, Reid gave pain filled shout that had the three of them flying across the room like a fast deflating balloon. Caleb shouted as his head cracked off the wall he had landed against and slumped dazed to the floor as Pogue and Reid both yelled in pain. Caleb turned his heavy head with difficulty and saw an unconscious Tyler flat on his back with Reid and Pogue writhing by his side.

Feeling sick, his head pounding in pain from his collision with the wall and with the familiar feeling of blood trickling down his face, Caleb pulled himself up into sort of an organized slump in one desperate bid to crawl towards his "brothers". The pain went through his body at warped speeds; he screamed and shook much like Tyler before mercy swept over him in a wave of unconsciousness.

Evelyn who closed her eyes at the first pain shouted was as white as her son was and blanched even further when she opened her and took in the sight of the boys slumped awkwardly against each other in unconscious heaps. God, in was like being transported 26 years back in time on the night that Joseph Garwin ascended.

She went looking for her boyfriend -Glenn Simms in the clearing of woods behind his house. He hung out there often with his best friends James, Joseph and Wayne.

She found them unconscious on the ground, their breathing labored and strained. They were glowing in strange sliver light. She was terrified and stared screaming at the top of her lungs for someone to help her. It was Glenn's dad Clark and the his friend Gorman who had found the boys and her sobbing, crying, screaming and shaking Glenn in an effort to wake him.

Clark had froze –stunned as he glanced at his son in shocked horror. Much like she was doing now. It was Gorman who loaded them into the house. Took care of them and explained to her just who the boys really were.

"They need rest. We will explain things when they awake." Gorman mumbled as he walked up the main staircase the boy's lifeless bodies trailing behind him.

The same as he did that horrid night 26 years ago. When her world was turned upside and she found she belong to man she didn't love and set a motion a course that would eventual kill her husband and lead the man she loved to be denied to her for all eternity. In this life and the next.

* * *

A/n: I hope that you liked it! Part two is on it's way up!

Thanks for reading and hope you review!

D.


	4. Love , Lies and Soulmates Part Two

A/n: It's been a while since I updated but I apologize profusely. Again I want to say thank you for all the reviews, they really make me smile seeing all that positive feedback in my mailbox.

So again thank you and I hope you enjoy this last installment and forgive me for it being so late! It's my first Covenant. story my baby if you will and I want to take my time with and make sure everything is exactly how I want it.

Some lines are borrowed from Karen's Freakazoid Series (PM me for the link) and uncfaery's Through the Looking Glass. My favorite piece of Fan fiction ever. (Google it or PM for the link whichever) the latter is used without permission. (I haven't gotten an email back yet.)

Enjoy!

* * *

When he woke up she was there. His angel, she found him in her bed the night he tried to kill Caleb and Sarah. He was burnt badly and barely conscious. She helped him and hide him from her parents without ever questioning her actions. She healed him and comforted him after the nightmares of trying to kill Caleb, his father, his adopted parents and his own life destroying powers. She became his saving grace. A grace that now was now scared shitless of him.

So much for telling the truth. It wasn't like he had a choice. He knew was the moment he had his first dream about her. She was his and she more frightened him than anything.

He was in pure agony. He could hear his adopted mother's voice drifting through his head like whisper. _"You always pay for your sins..."_

She was right.

The bright bedroom lights increased Chase's blazing headache, but he left them on. The light would make Arly feel safer. He moved closer to her, slowly and carefully, hands held out empty before him. He didn't think she took any notice of how non aggressive he was being. She stared at him, but he wasn't sure she was seeing.

Her emotions, on the other hand, beat at him. She was screaming inside her head, and he could hear it.

But it wasn't with fear.

He reached a hand toward her. "Arly…"

She rose to her feet slowly, gracefully, quivering with fury. "I'm not crazy."

"You're not crazy."

"You're a black eyed witch ."

"Yes," Chase affirmed again. This did nothing to calm her. Anger flared like neon fire in her bright blue eyes.

"I'm not dreaming this, am I?"

He inched closer and cupped her cheek. "Sweetheart, you haven't dreamed any of it."

She took a sharp breath. "None of it?"

"None."

"You let me think I was insane?" Her fist connected with his jaw.

"I can expl-"

"You sent me those visions of the fires , the spiders and that creepy man didn't you? Made me see things."

"Not on purpose! We share-" Chase's guts twisted with guilt. "I-"

She threw another punch at him, just missing his nose by a fraction of an inch. Before Arly could try again, Chase had her wrists in a tight grip.

"Stop it," he ordered, and twisted her around, holding her back to his chest with her arms crossed in front of her. The intimate embrace wasn't just defensive; he needed her close to him, needed her touch, even though it increased his awareness of her pain and anger.

He needed to share those hard emotions, to love all of her even while she hated him. The hate would pass. Or so he prayed.

He closed his eyes against the light. He opened his mind to hers, though he faced a storm, and spoke directly to her, thought to thought.

_Listen to me. Just listen. I never meant to impose my-delusions-on you. Never meant to hurt you._

_It was real!_ She silently yelled back. The man. The spiders. She shuddered and pushed against him again, determined to break his hold.

_Real_, he admitted. _Am I hurting you?_

_You're holding me prisoner what do you think? _

_I'm keeping you safe._

_From what?_

_Yourself. Me._

_Keeping__ yo__u safe from__ me._

_That, too._

Arly could feel Chase's smile. It was the oddest sensation. It was pleasant, soothing, like a balm on her burning thoughts. She had to fight the urge to calm down, and she fought it by trying to feel beyond his smile, to probe deeper into the mind touching hers. There was an instant, less than a heartbeat, when she stepped through a door, into fire. Saw a twisted face in the flames.

The door slammed on her faster than she'd found it.

_No! You can't-see me-know me like I am now._

There was anguish in his thoughts, real fear and shame. Fear for her. Shame at what she'd seen.

_Why not?_ Arly demanded.

_Remember the bad dreams you've had? Those were my bad dreams, too._

Arly didn't understand what she'd seen deep inside his mind; it had been too brief, too intense, to take in. But she remembered the dreams.

_I'll share everything, Arly. Soon All the good things. You have my word. Later, when I'm more myself._

_How much more yourself could a cold blood killer with supernatural powers be?_ She asked. _Are you going start ripping out my throat and using me as a human sacrifice in some potion or something ? _

_"Spare me the drama, please Arlington "_

He sounded so exhausted, Arly almost wanted to hug him. Than she remembered the dreams, the spiders, the boy he killed and the pretty blonde woman he threatened to burn to death_. "Spare__ you?__ You're the scary one."_

_"I never wanted to frighten you."_

How could he say that? And sound so very sincere? There was a fire inside this creature. Chained violence, she realized, horrible dark urges trying to get out. He had a grip on her that was unbreakable, arms like steel binding her close to him.

He kissed the side of her throat. Arly stiffened, waiting for the sharp prick of spider bites and the appearance of the creepy blue veins that pulsed on that poor girl's body. What she felt were soft, warm lips, the brush of his breath against her skin. It felt good, and it set her shivering, partly with anticipation of pain, partly with longing.

Damn it! How could she still desire him, knowing what he was?

"I love you that's why."

Fear fisted Arly's heart. She opened her mouth and than caught herself up short, shaking her head. He was crazy. But one thing she believed, he really was in love with her. She knew, somehow, that it was true. She also knew something else about him- she'd known it since that instant when she'd looked into his eyes and seen the ancient shadows there. He was evil. Cruel, capricious, and dangerous as a cobra. A prince of darkness. Completely evil-and completely in love with her. How was she supposed to reconcile that?

"You aren't listening to me, are you?"

Arly tested his hold on her, but though his grip wasn't painful, there was no breaking away from him. They were locked together until Chase decided to let her go. "I'm paying attention," she said. "How can not?"

"Because you won't let me get past your preconceived ideas of what I am."

"There's a monster inside you," she reminded him. "what else do I need to know?"

They were so close that she felt his shrug all through her. He didn't deny it. That's what she was afraid of. "Let's talk about us."

She knocked her head back against his shoulder. Maybe she couldn't hurt him, but she could still express her anger. "Us?"

He remained infuriatingly calm and patient. "You already know I love you, even if you won't believe it. As for that beast inside me-yes, I fear what I could do to you, and I fight it. I'll never hurt you. And soon you'll realize that you can have no other lover."

She didn't want any other lover. She hadn't wanted him, to begin with. Even before she knew he was a witch , warlock whatever.., she knew he brought too much complication to her life.

No-he brought color to what had been a black-and-white life. Once you saw in color, how did you live without it?

"No other lover sounds terribly romantic," she muttered with a sarcastic eye roll.

"Doesn't it?" His cheek brushed across hers. It was freshly shaved and smelt of soap, all normal and nice. "I am a romantic."

Her skin tingled where he'd touched her. It would be easier if there was at least a whiff of rotting corpse or evil about him.

"This was meant to be Arly. You'll see."

That seemed to be his answer to a lot of things. "I don't believe in fate."

"Yes you do Arly. I know you do."

Okay, he had her there. "Only sometimes." She replied stubbornly. Damn him.

He chuckled and kissed her throat again, and the back of her neck. It set her quivering. Good lord, but she was dancing with the devil here. He made such sweet promises: of love, of knowledge and power.

"Tempting," she admitted to herself, muttering much to Chase's confusion. But that was the devil's job, wasn't it?

"Will you let go of me now? Please?"

"Will you run?"

"Would I have a chance if I did?"

"No."

"Then I won't try to run."

_Not yet._

Chase mentally sighed. Soulmates were a bitch. This is what you get when you try to kill someone.

* * *

Reid blinked stupidly at Gorman for a second before letting loose a stream of vicious curses. "You can't be serious!" He shouted after a second a twitch starting in his right eye.

Tyler started to shake his head and then paled dramatically as realization dawned. "Oh come on man!"

"No, no no!" Reid shot to his feet and staggered back blindly, waving his hands before him as the penny dropped. "Don't even think about it." He looked wildly around for an escape route. "I am not playing this game. I don't mind the kinky sex and maybe the occasional date or two, but I'm not being anyone's soulmate and you can't make me!"

Reid made a break for the door only to be knocked back on his bed, by a way of Gormans hand. He cursed and shouted as Gorman's magic held him restrained to his bed.

Pogue much like Reid blinked stupidly, then his eyes bugged "Oh fuck! Kate's going to kill me. "

Caleb always the clear headed one craned his neck around to look at Pogue and Reid sitting scowling on the bed and a stunned Tyler leaning back against his headboard looking at Gorman with appalled and stunned eyes.

"And when did you first begin to suspect that we might be involved in this great cosmic fuck-up?" Reid demanded and Gorman's eyes glittered angrily in the at Reid's choice language but he answered calmly. "We have always known, Mr. Garwin, from the very night you drew your first breathe."

Pogue sighed. "Don't that just suck? We were doomed from the start." Caleb who was finally starting to see the big picture nodded in gloomy agreement.

_Sarah._

"There's no chance your wrong?" Pogue demanded rubbing at his aching temples. What was he suppose to tell Kate. _Honey I'm sorry we have to break up.. I'm destined to be soul mates with a chick I never met and were tied together forever. In this life in the next. _

_Yeah that would go over so damn well. _

"Afraid not, in our world there's this idea called the soulmate principle. It says that every person has one soulmate out there, just one and that person is perfect for you and is your destiny."

"Destiny?" He squawked. All hell no! Reid Garwin was no one's destiny he had plans to be the**_ next George Clooney damn it_**! He shook his head emphatically. "No one controls my destiny but me."

"I'm afraid you may have no choice, Mr Garwin." Gorman sighed, pursed his lips and quoted softly. "When you're soulmates, it hits you like lightning, and you know that's the one person in the world you were meant to be with. You don't think you're soulmates; you just know it's your destiny whether you like it or not." Gorman looked pointy at Reid who turned slightly green.

"What?" Reid gaped aghast at the old man. "What do you mean I have no fucking choice? You can't make me be chained to someone for the rest of my life if I don't want to, that's not… not…It's not fair."

He paused a second and cocked his head. "What if she's ugly? Do we get to exchange for a newer model or something?"

Gorman drew a sharp breath closed his eyes and counted to ten. It never failed that Reid Garwin could drive him absolutely insane. He was so much like his rowdy father it was a sin.

"I'm not going to dignify that shallow question with answer."

Caleb then turned to Gorman to ask him a more helpful question than Reid only to find himself staring at him in glazed horror.

"The woman in the mirror. That's my soulmate?" Caleb's eyes widened in understanding. He knew the answer as soon as the answer left his mouth. That woman who he long thought of as a figment of his insane imagination belonged to him.

His body sung. _Mine._

Gorman looked stunned for a second before nodding. "You've seen her already?" He watched as all the boys shifted uncomfortably in the bed and looked down at the floor like a naughty child who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Incredible!" Gorman exclaimed happily. Reid was almost expecting him to start jumping up and down.

Reid curled his lip "Yeah, if you don't mind knowing that you had no choice in your own destiny." His bitter voice had Caleb glancing back at his brother as he sat with his arms folded across his chest like a child throwing a temper tantrum. "That you never stood a chance from the start, that your whole life has been nothing but a big joke while the universe waited for you to catch up and sacrifice every good fuck you could of had with a thin ,busty, and ditzy blonde and chain yourself to a woman you don't want for the rest of your life."

"Reid." Caleb warned seeing the dangerous look in Gorman's eyes. But Tyler jumped in to defended him before Reid could start to rant angrily again.

"He has a point." He said meekly as he found herself being gaped at by Gorman. It wasn't often Tyler agreed with Reid. Took his side? Yes. Agreed with the bastard? No. He cocked his head to the side. "What I'm just saying." He grinned as Reid seemed to clam down a bit a flash him a grateful smile. Contrary to popular belief, Reid hated not to be in control. He may be wild and reckless but he always knew what he was doing and was always in control. This soulmate business was beyond his control and therefore Reid was going to be force to be reckoned with.

"Once your find your mate that will all change." Gorman said fondly, his eyes took on a strange light, like he was looking at something no one could see about him.

"What does that mean, exactly, being a mate?" Pogue turned her gaze toward Gorman." Why do I get the feeling that you left some big stuff out when you explained things to us?"

"The Sons of Ipswich mate for life," Gorman answered, _You need your mate to survive._ He tacked on silently. _A little at a time Gorman. A little at a time. Reid already looked like he was going to run out of here at the first chance he got and throw himself off the nearest bridge. _

_He doesn't know how lucky he has it. People would kill to find a love like ours right Gertrude? _

"Sorry." He added as Caleb cleared his throat as a way to get his attention. "We don't have to love our mates," Gorman explained. "You can detest your soulmate with every fiber of your being, but you will still be irreversibly tied to them. You can't have children with anyone but your mate, no matter what your personal feelings are toward them. And you have all come into contact with your mate besides in your dreams. Somewhere in your school, at the bar, it could be anywhere but it was somewhere."

Caleb rummaged around his brain. He knew he never met a woman like the one in his head. That he was sure of.

Gorman paused, his gaze serious as he addressed everyone in the room "It's instantaneous. The first time you come into contact with them your tied to them regardless of what your feelings are for each other at the time. It's a dangerous gift and can do more harm than you realize." He was solemn and his tone held an edge of warning to it.

"I assume it's a gift we can't ... you know, return?"

Gorman closed his eyes and blew out a breathe. Reid was going to be the death of him.He just hoped this soulmate principal wasn't going to be the death of Reid. "You're free to go. If you look in the Book of Damnation, the passage should be in there now.

"And now we get homework?" He heard Reid's annoyed tone carry in through the hall.

He had just set his weary 450 year old body down on the bed when Evelyn came walking in."You didn't tell them everything. You know that Gorman. You didn't them about how their powers will change, about being a pride or how this could very well kill them."

She shuddered as she mumbled the last part.

"A little at a time Mrs. Danvers. We don't want to overwhelm them. As you said this could kill them. It's better to take it easy. Don't you think?"

She nodded her yes, but inwardly she knew it was worse to do even do it at all.

She wouldn't wish this on even her worst enemy.

* * *

"Damn…damn…damn," Kelly cursed as yet another box fell out of her hands. Damn Kate for ditching her at the last freakin second to go talk with Pogue. How the hell was she supposed to get the door to dorm room open and move all her stuff in if she couldn't even walk without dropping things? Stupid freaking dorming… She grumbled.

"Do you need some help?" Tyler asked from behind the young woman he'd seen struggling with a stack of labeled boxes bigger than she was. He'd been on his way his room when he heard her cursing a blue streak matching the thumps on creaky hardwood hallways floor.

"Please." She begged pathetically smiling as he took two boxes from her and than used his free hand to open the door.

She dropped her boxes on the bed with the nice stranger following suit and turned to look him. He was gorgeous no denying that, his hair was the color of autumn leaves, that odd mixture of auburn, brown and gold and fell gently on his warm face.

"Thank you." She said dramatically as she tossed her long brown hair that cascades down her back in waves and her lily green eyes sparkled. "I thought I was going to either break everything or be flattened."

"No problem," Tyler said as he brushed his hand off on his pants before extending it to the girl. "My name's Tyler Simms."

Kelly knew she heard that name somewhere before. She just couldn't remember where.

"Well," Kelly said as she shook Tyler's hand, "mine's Kelly Paisley." Just than a gorgeous mischievous looking blonde poked their head in the door before walking in.

"Hi?" Kelly said with a slight wave, feeling just a tad bit uncomfortable. She wasn't used to attractive unknown men just dropping in her dorm room. Tyler chuckled knowingly and pointed at the too pretty blonde.

"This here is my best friend Reid Garwin."

"Nice to meet you," Kelly said as she grinned easily at them. "It's nice to meet you all," She clarified as Reid flashed her a disarming grin but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Thanks again for helping me." She added feeling the need to say something in the silence. Tyler just nodded and she opened her mouth to ask where the provost office was when _he_ walked through the door. The man of her dreams. . He stood before her, alive and real, and every bit as gorgeous as the mirage in the mirror. His shoulders were just as broad, his body still perfect, his hair was unruly, sticking up everywhere in spikes and his eyes were a piercing light brown that almost looked amber. Truth be told, he was drop dead gorgeous and he was just standing there, staring at her with eyes that saw through to her soul, burning amber, scorching eyes that stared at her, eating her as though starved for the mere sight of her.

And she froze as some bone deep recognition tore through her. Caleb Danvers. She knew his name and she knew for a fact she had never met him -not even once, not counting in her dreams of course.

He knew what she was too. She was all _his._ She looked delicious. Beautiful and simply breathtaking. Large breasts, broad hips, shapely thighs, a rounded stomach…everything he wanted in a woman's body. He'd dated women err was dating a woman who was model thin, but much preferred a full-figured woman. He liked cupping heavy breasts and cradling wide hips in his hands.

He watched her gaze quickly travel over his face and body, a disbelieving look in her eyes. He knew exactly how she felt. He didn't believe who he was seeing.

She stood before him…the woman of his visions. She wore a long green shirt and ripped jeans. He wasn't the least bit disappointed. While not tight, the shirt flowed over her generous breasts. Caleb had to tell himself not to ogle them, and especially not to touch them.

Even though he desperately wanted to.

A slight shake of her head set her long hair in motion in motion. She cleared her throat, stepping forward, she held out her hand. "I'm Kelly." He knew that. Knew that the minute they locked eyes.

He'd never heard her voice in his visions, but she sounded exactly how she looked— soft, feminine, and sexy. Caleb accepted her hand. "Caleb."

When he grasped hers with his, the world disappeared and shifted violently on its foundations. A not so small electric current seemed to move from one body to another, neither knew which, but both felt it. Immediately they dropped hands and moved violently away from each other.

Her heart pounded, a thin layer of perspiration coated her body despite the cool temperature in the room. What the hell was happening to her?

Everyone hard the two halting, roughly drawled words that slipped slowly past the tightening line of Caleb's mouth.

"Oh shit."

* * *

That's part two! I hope you enjoyed it! It was slightly longer. Next up is Reid's introduction with his soul mate. I'm just dying to get to him... grins Pogue maybe my favorite but Reid is sure fun to play with!

Thanks for reading and hope you review!

D.


	5. Oh Shit!

**A/n: I'm so sorry .. I never got back to all your reviews. I just want to say thank you all for all of them and I'm so very sorry about not responding. That was rude of me and I apologize. It will never happen again.**

**So again , Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate more than you.**

**Oh and if you want to know why I haven't updated. It's because my boyfriend is home from Iraq ( I haven't seen him in person in close to a year) and I just want to spend as much time with him as possible. Especially since he goes back soon.**

**So forgive me. I'm selfish! :P**

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Oh shit!**_

_**WARNING**_: This is where we drift in very, _very _Mature Adult themes. If this isn't your thing or your to young to be reading such a thing. Turn away now. You were warned and any flames will be mocked, laughed and disregarded. If they even mention overly mature themes in the complaint. I will embarrass you.

You were WARNED!

* * *

"Oh shit." Perhaps it wasn't the most proper of phrases but at this point he didn't give a damn. Besides what it lacked in eloquence, it made up for in conviction. In fact, in Caleb's personal opinion it summed the situation up to perfection.

After all, it wasn't everyday a man learns he's destined to be tied to what he thought was just a figment of his imagination that his tired mind had dreamed up and refused to let ago of. Only to learn it was his soul mate. No less than an hour later he finds his life mate in a dorm that has been populated for the last fours years by Queen Hardhead herself, Jezebel LeGrande.

"Hell." He muttered under his breath, reaching down he unsubtly rearranged himself and tugged one end of his shirt down in front of his swiftly bulging fly. "I'm so freakin screwed."

The second he stepped through the doorway and into the dorm the smell of sandalwood-the smell of her. Had hit him like a fist upside the head, rolling across his tongue like the sweetest sin, the most wicked of temptations. It was something he wanted to sink his teeth into and swallow. Something entirely his. The erotic promise of damp pink flesh that would be slippery and warm to the lap of his tongue, rich and succulent like a treasure.

Hunger clawed its way though his system, which such a force, that if he could tear his eyes away from her and look down he, expected to see bloody claw marks trailing up and down his body. His skin went hot and damp as a low unfamiliar burn began in his belly. It was the unmistakable hunger for hard, gritty, grinding sex, and yet utterly foreign from the driving need he'd known in the past.

This was more. Harder. Deeper. A sharp-edged driving need unlike anything he'd ever experienced, raging and explosive.

He didn't just want to bury himself insider her- he had too.

"You're growling Caleb." Tyler's voice was low and lazy; sounding like this was an everyday thing. However, Caleb knew him well enough to know that Tyler had picked up on the tension in the room and was carrying quite a bit of it himself.

"What's going on?" Reid demanded for the third time through his gritted teeth. As if a light switch had been suddenly flipped in his brain. All the anger over being left out of the loop vanished from his face.

He cursed roughly under his breath and than cut his sharp grey graze from Kelly to him and back to her again. Letting his eyes trail over her in a slow search that made his muscles tighten with the urge to kill Reid. Or at the very least maim him.

His stunned gaze swung back to him, in a hot accusing stare. If looks could kill, Caleb would be pushing up daises right about now.

The whole room looked round at a strangled yelp from the corner, to see Reid staring with abject horror at Caleb.

"I don't freakin believe it. You can't be serious." Reid screeched. "It's like the freakin plague! We are all doomed!"

His tone took on an hysterical edge as he swung about the room as if looking for the offending soul mate principal and preparing to snuff it out of existence permanently.

"Why do I get the feeling that someday I'll be describing this to a psychiatrist?" Kelly mumbled to herself so low no could hear it as she pushed a box aside and made room for herself to sit.

Figures she thought with a sigh all hot guys were either crazy of gay.

Caleb dared a quick look in Kelly's direction to see her stunning lily green eyes had a guard questioning looking in them. Like she was calling their sanity into question. He couldn't blame her.

Right about now Reid looked like a wild and feral lion trapped in too small cage. That or a man searching for the nearest bridge to toss himself off. Caleb was voting for the latter.

"You doomed us all... Domino affect! you stupid ass!" Reid hissed his eyes flashing black for one split second.

Wishing he could just gag the stupid son of bitch before he said anything more, Caleb growled. "Last warning Reid. Shut up and leave it alone."

Just than Pogue came strutting through the door with Kate under his arm but the smile he had plastered on his face didn't reach his eyes.

He picked up of the situation immediately. His face paled and his eyes went wide.

Kate oblivious to the tension in the room or just not giving a damn untangled herself from Pogue with a big smile. "Hey, look at that I don't even have to introduce anyone." She giggled turning to look at Kelly, frowning instantly.

"What's up? Did Reid hit on you?" She turned to look at Caleb her eyes wide. "Did you just growl?"

Tyler cleared his throat, drawing all attention to him. "It seems like Caleb found his... " He trailed off with a snicker giving Caleb a sly grin and turned his back on him to cross to other corner of the room to Reid's side. "Seems like Caleb found his ball and chain."

Pogue groaned and ran his fingers through his already disheveled hair while Reid actually seemed to whimper and turned his devastated eyes Pogue's way.

"It's like the plague I tell you. One person gets it and BAM!" Reid panicked. "We are all infected." He paused at the door and pointed his finger at Caleb. "All your fault!"

He left the room in the hurry and took off down the hallway, the could hear him muttering the entire way.

"_Thanks Caleb…There goes every busty and easy woman ... all gone... all gone... Poof!" _

As Reid's deranged mutterings started to fade into a dull echo Caleb cleared his throat, clapped his hands together, and said awkwardly.

"Cafeteria Anyone?"

* * *

Evelyn sat alone in her living room reading her favorite book,_ The Little Prince_ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. No matter how many times she read it, she always found something new in it.

And today she needed to find something good. Something to remind her that there was beauty in the world. Innocence. Joy. Happiness.

Most of all, she wanted to find hope.

Tired and disillusioned, she had sought solace in her book. In it, she saw goodness, a goodness that was missing in the people she'd known in her life.

Evelyn couldn't remember the last time she had cried. The last time she had laughed.

She was numb now.

Numbness was the curse. The price she paid for not listening to Gorman in the first place and ripping apart two families. The price for leading her husband to his death , and leading the only man she ever loved to seek company in Jim , Jack and Jose'.

She was a horrible person.

Young, vain, and stupid, Evelyn had foolishly ignored Gorman's warning, thinking it could never happen to her.

After all Glenn and her love could survive anything even the curse of soulmates.

She would never love anyone else. And she foolishly believed that she could have it all.

How foolish , it made her sick to her stomach with how naive she was. Now it was only her books that brought her any emotion at all. Even though she couldn't really "feel" them, the unreal and muted emotions of the characters comforted her on some level.

And if she were capable of it, that would make her weep.

She heard someone approaching her from behind. Even though she knew it was no one other than Gorman she hurriedly she tucked her beloved book beneath the chair's cushion. Not wanting anyone to know she still had it.

She turned to see a sight that stole her breath away. Walking into her foyer was Kenyon Simms. She looked older than when she saw her last. She had to be what thirty eight? Thirty-nine now? She was only a kid when she married Glenn. A young woman at not even five days over twenty.

Although Kenyon looked older, she looked happier too. Her dark brown hair was shorter than it had been when she'd last seen her—she had a blunt cut that swung curled becomingly around a face that looked no older than thirty.

Tall, thin, and extremely attractive, she was dressed in a black sweater and jeans. She looked extremely displeased to be here.

Expect Kenyon wasn't alone.

Sherrilyn "Sherry" Garwin and Rhyannon Parry were with her.

Sherry didn't look much better than last time she saw her. Her once lively blonde hair was dull , lackluster and a tangled mess that was piled on top of her head. She could still see the fresh injection marks on her arm.

Sherry had yet to overcome her addiction to heroin. It was a pity. Sherry was once a lively , charismatic young woman. Now she looked like the walking dead.

Evelyn had to admit she had no room to walk. She was a functional drunk after all.

Rhyannon Parry didn't look a day over thirty even though Evelyn knew damn well she was approaching fifty. Her long blond hair was the color of honey, and it fell in soft waves around her thin shoulders. Her skin was pale, with rosy cheeks and lips that her the color of a fine red wine. She stood close to six feet in height and wore a white cable-knit sweater and jeans .

She looked a elegant and poised as ever. Rhyannon AKA The Ice Queen certainly didn't look like the years had thawed that ice block doubling as heart. She looked as cold as ever.

"To what do I owe the honor?" Evelyn asked as the three of them surrounded her.

Rhyannon stepped forward , her chin held high and her perfectly chiseled face had a neutral expression , but it was the eyes that gave her away. The blazed with a hate so strong that Evelyn was surprised she wasn't up in flames as they speak.

"We know what's happening and we came here to help."

Kenyton scoffed at that and flashed her a deadly glare but said nothing more. Sherry just shook in place and scratched her arm with a fever that worried Evelyn.

That woman wasn't fit to care for herself let alone her wayward son.

"There's nothing we can do." Gorman answered for her as he stepped into the foyer. Smiling gently at Sherry and Kenyton but bared his teeth at Rhyannon who just sniffed and turned her head.

Kenyton made a pain-filled face and looked desperately at Gorman. "They're has to be something we can do."

"Of course there is Kenny." A painfully familiar voice rang out from the doorway. She sucked in a breath but she wasn't the only one. Kenyton's face lost all it's glow and drained to a corpse colored white.

A chill went down Evelyn's spine, but then, it always did whenever Glenn came near. There was something about him that was compelling and irresistible.

She'd never known anyone like him. He was alluring in a way that defied her best abilities to explain. It was as if his very presence filled her with a desire so potent that it was hard to look at him without wanting to rip his clothes off, throw him to the ground, and make love to him right here infront of everyone.

Glenn's face was impassive as he watched her without comment. He nodded curtly in Kenyton's direction but she refused to acknowledge him and she could see the flash on pain that flashed in his pale blue eyes.

Evelyn sighed. She didn't want to do this. Too many years of feeling guilty and responsible for the ruins the covenant was in had left her emotionally bankrupt.

She'd begun to suspect that she was no longer capable of feeling anyone's pain.

Not even her own.

Lack of compassion had ruined The Covenant in the first place. Now she was afraid it was going to ruin her, as well.

"There are no options." Gorman's voice rang out as he gave Glenn a hard stare. It looked remarkably similar the one he had gave them both when he learned of their affair.

Glenn let out a disgusted breath. "I don't believe that."

The hairs on the back of her neck rose. As a wave of power whirled about the room. Evelyn stood on her feet and slid her gaze from Glenn to Gorman, who stood with his arms folded over his chest. His gaze unwavering, he watched Glenn with those eerie swirling silver eyes of his.

"You believe there's really nothing we can do Gorman?" She asked putting her full trust in the centuries old man.

She learned the hard way that happened when you didn't listen to him.

Gorman nodded.

"Bullshit!" Glenn sneered. "_You_ took care of us. Our parents helped us control our new powers. We can do that for them."

" Gorman's right. Always right. We can't we anything." Sherry answered honestly as she picked at a scab on her forearm , making Evelyn scrunch up her nose in disgust. "Naughty , Naughty Evie. Doomed them all." She muttered now toying with a strand of her hair.

Gorman gave Glenn an arch look and met his gaze levelly. Glenn just narrowed his eyes at him. But he looked nervous. He glanced from Gorman to Sherry, then back again.

"What do you know that I don't?" He asked her but Sherry was already too lost in her own world to answer.

Those pale, swirling eyes cut through Glenn as Gorman said quietly, " The children's fate were sealed by your hand. You doomed them all with your mistakes."

"They are more powerful and more dangerous to themselves than any other Coven known to man. They surpass even the elders." All eyes went wide at that.

_Even the elders. _Glenn paled dramatically and sunk into the chair like all his bones had liquefied.

Evelyn knew the feeling.

Every illusion of hope she had found in _The Little Prince _shattered instantly at his words.

She did this. She did this to her son.

_Oh Caleb, my baby. I'm so sorry._

* * *

Reid groaned as the battery died on his Ipod. Just his luck. . He was beginning to suspect that some high-power just kept doing torturing him just for shits and giggles.

Aggravated, Reid slammed his head down on the Cafeteria table and muttered vivacious curses under his breath that would make a sailor blush.

What did he ever do to deserve this?

He was busy drumming his fingers against the table and going throw a list in his head of both is past and recent offenses trying to figure out if any of them warned a punishment so severe as a soulmate aka the ball and chain.

And he meant that quite literally mind you. When suddenly he felt like someone had tied a knot on his ribcage with an invisible rope and was yanking him forward.

Harsh, lusting thick images in blazing ambers and reds flashed through his angry , and tired mind. , revitalizing him , jamming his system and taking him on a bigger high than any substance he had ever used.

Reid Garwin was no stranger to what sin tasted like, felt like and this was it alright. Wicked and yet as sweet as heaven- the most dangerous kind of pleasure.

He wasn't foolish. He didn't believe in soulmates –life mates or that a woman who had been created to be his perfect match, the other half of himself, even really existed. But there was no denying that the Book of Damnation was telling him or what the scent and feel of her was doing to his head -not to mention his other body parts.

He rotated in his seat to search for the delicious mouth watering scent and the feel that was tugging at his insides and tying them up in knots. He spun toward the cafeteria line that was parallel from where he was sitting.

He knew the instant he set eyes on her , though she never would have guessed she'd be the one, that had that intoxicating scent that was wrapping itself around him like a vise.

But it was her. The woman he dreamed about for nights on end. The innocent-looking little waif of a thing with the long brown braided hair, her lunch tray tucked infront of her and a bulky paperback wedged under her right arm, tortoiseshell glasses perched smartly on the bridge of her small button nose.

She was wearing a deliciously tight Led Zepplin shirt and a pair of faded black pants, and a dark gray jacket tied around her wait and braided bracelets circling once delicately boned wrist as slender sliver watch on the other. A simple outfit , nothing too provocative , but on her it looked downright sinful, the way it hugged her delicate curves.

A fierce , possessive wave of heat poured through his veins while his mouth watered.

Left with on other option, he waited for her to come closer. Time seemed to stand still was she walked towards him, his lungs burning while the top of his head felt about ready to come off.

Whatever high this was, he never wanted to come down. Moreover, he never wanted to stop looking at her.

Within seconds she was infront of him , talking to someone without even glancing in his direction.

Well that just wasn't acceptable.

At least every woman in this school eyed him. With an utterly foreign sense of desperation, he did something that he'd never though he would do.

He tripped her.

Sputtering and cursing she came to her knees and struggled to wipe the tomato soup of her glasses.

"Are you okay?" He asked bending down to look at her , wincing at the dark scowl on her face as she glanced at him with the biggest blue eyes he had ever seen blinking owlishly at him in stunned surprise.

As he gazed upon her fey face, unique details began imprinting themselves on his memory. He saw nothing but her. Nothing but the delicate curve of her jaw. The tiny lone freckle perched on the arc of her left cheek bone. The clear celestial blue of her eyes. That looked like a perfect cloudless sky with a tiny band of dark blue highlighting the outer edges of her irises. Her eyes were searing in their intensity and shining with intellect.

She was beautiful.

"It was an accident." He muttered embarrassed and she reluctantly let him help her to her feet.

"Yeah , sure." She murmured, looking down at the floor and than bending up to pick up her book.

She looked like a pissed off little librarian with those damn glasses and that braid. That image was all wrong for the molten , fiery passion he could feel bubbling just beneath the surface as he pictured her laying beneath him , her head thrown back and her eyes wild in passion.

He didn't know how it was possible but she looked even more gorgeous angry.

As if to prove him right, she huffed crossing her arms over her chest, tapping her foot in barely contained anger. All conscious thought drained from his body as he watched her lips, her tongue swiping over them in a nervous gesture, her arms crossed under her chest in annoyance. She let out an exasperated growl and his mind went haywire.

His less than PG-13 daydream was just getting good, as he was getting to the part where all her clothes were mysteriously disappearing and she was now wearing nothing but a smile and a come-hither look in her eyes when she snapped her fingers infront of his face before waving her hand furiously in barely concealed ire.

It was than the spell slipped and he was able to see her face clearly for the first time. He blanched and backed up startled.

Oh god. Oh freaking god.

He found his soul mate alright. In Queen Pain in Ass Jezebel LeGrande.

His head fell forward and he whimpered, all euphoria gone.

Again, he asked pitifully What in hells name did he do to deserve this?

* * *

**And that is the end of this chapter.**

**I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Poor, Poor Reid. All he can manage to seriously piss off his soul mate in a matter of 5.6 seconds. You have to love him.**

**If your thinking I went a little too fast, and didn't quite finish Reid and Kelly before I moved on to Reid and Jezebel , don't worry.. Caleb starts the next chapter again. Moreover, there was a reason why I did it. Which will all be revealed in the next chapter.**

**If your wondering who the Elders are.. You'll have to wait. All in good time.. All in good time my friends. ;) I have a lot of Plot Twists.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you be so kind as to review.**

**D.**


	6. Heir To The Sinner Prt 1

**Chapter Title: Heir To The Sinners . Pt.1**

**Thanks SO much for all the reviews guys I really appreciate it! You're the best group of reviewers, I've ever had! ;) Sorry for the long wait again, cringes My computer crashed , the was sick and yeah. I don't what is with this story, that makes so hard to write and actually update without a month or three opps passing by. Lol. Forgive me ?**

* * *

Caleb cleared his throat, clapped his hands together, and said awkwardly.

"Cafeteria Anyone?"

Caleb sighed regretfully when Pogue smoothly came to his rescue. "Yeah I would love to get to know the famous Kelly." Pogue winked her direction and Kelly couldn't help but smile at his charismatic nature and his willingness to accept her just like that.

Caleb turned to face her hopefully, his brown eyes shining and she felt the strangest sensation through her. It was like the feeling you get when you are on a roll coaster for the first time. Or going so high on swing you think you can touch the clouds. Or when you hit those certain bumps in the road and your stomach would flop. That's how she felt when he looked her – she couldn't explain it any better than that, but that's how she felt.

"You could get to know me-us." He amended quickly. "Please?" Flashing her, a charming smile that was all teeth.

But I _do know you_, she thought. In that instant a strange image flashed through her mind. It was as if she were floating outside herself and she could see the two of them, standing there in her ugly bare dorm room. She could see the sun shining on his hair through the window and her face tilted up to him. And they were connected by a silver cord that hummed and sang with power.

A band of energy, linking them. It was so real she could almost reach out and touch it. It bound them heart to heart, and it was trying to draw them closer.

A thought came to her, as if some small voice from deep inside her was speaking. _The silver cord can never be broken. Your lives are linked. You can't escape each other any more than you can escape destiny_.

Suddenly, as quickly as it had come, the picture and the voice vanished. Kelly blinked and shook her head, trying to wrench her mind back. He was still looking at her, waiting for an answer to his question.

"I would like that," she said, feeling how lame and inadequate the words were. She felt like silly child with a grade school crush, stuttering and stumbling over her words. "But I have to get myself set up before classes tomorrow." His eyes dropped to her wrist, and there was a flash from them almost like silver. That cord again. Her imagination really need to put a leash on its self.

"Do you want us to help?" Tyler offered, Kelly liked him already. He was gentle and sweet and willingly to help her even though he didn't know her. Their was genuine warmth and friendliness in the depths of his brown eyes. She would have killed for a friend like him back home.

"Thank you but I'm okay here." She saw Kate start to protest and cut her off by holding up her hand. "Really Katie, I'm fine."

They talked for a few more minutes about where their distressed cute blonde friend had taken off too, a few jokes by Tyler about him shackling himself to his bed to avoid things, the conversation had left her confused, and she could tell by looking at Katie she was not the only one. However, it felt good to be somewhat included, to have someone talk to her without looking at her in distaste and muttering about her as they walked. Growing up in a small town was hell like that.

Slowly they started to trickle out of her new home, Tyler first in search of Reid, Pogue left for a motorcycle ride and Katie to meet her new roommate and her old friend Sarah, and Caleb was last lingering by her as she toyed with the edges of a cardboard box. After a second she turned staring up at him, mesmerized. She was hardly breathing, and her chest felt too full. He was so close to her; she could see his eyes, the same color as amber gemstone and she could feel his breath on her skin and the warmth of his body. His hair wasn't just brown, but all sorts of colors, some strands so dark they were almost purple, others like burgundy wine, others gold.

He was different. Different from any guy she'd ever known. A sweet hot current was running through her, a feeling of wildness and possibility. _**Of magic.**_ She was trembling and she could feel a heartbeat in her fingers, but she couldn't tell if it was hers or his .She felt almost as if he were in her mind. He was so close and he was looking down at her…

And then he did something that shocked Kelly more than anything else had since her parents told her it was off to boarding school for her. He lifted her hand to hers and ran his fingers over it before letting it go. It was the gentlest, the lightest of touches, and it went through Kelly like fire. She stared at him, dazed and unbelieving, utterly speechless. She could neither move nor think; she could only stand there and _feel_.

And then he was leaving, and. She was alone, gazing after him, her hand still lying on her unpacked box with a dazed smile.

He might just teach her to like it here.

* * *

Reid watched the tall beauty go. All he was left with was a vivid image of long dark hair and jade blue eyes that were hypnotizing and deadly. As she fled, he fought down the urge to follow her with all the will he could muster. Her confusion and fear clawed at him. He forced himself to remain still as pain surged through him, wanting her with all his soul, bleeding inside at knowing she rejected anything to do with him. He told himself she had every right to run, and didn't let his primal response to flight rule him. He actually tripped her just to get her attention , and than started muttering like a crazy person. He couldn't blame her but he was still hurt and all he wanted to do was track her down , pin her against a wall and find out if her lips felt as soft as they looked. He stayed on the leash, though breathing came hard and every muscle in his body tensed solid as stone.

Let her run. It will be all right.

Even as he told himself this, part of him hated her for running-that annoying part of him that was poisoned into believing in soul-bonding passion at first sight.

What was happening to her was beyond her understanding. Hell it was beyond his. If they touched now, it would be raw and rough.

What was his problem with that again?

_You can't hurt her. It would hurt you. You don't want to ever see her hurt. _

_Ughh. Why did his conscious always sound suspiciously like a snotty Caleb? _

He hadn't expected to find her so soon, he had hoped it would never happen to him but it did and losing her instantly dealt a blow to his soul. He could have followed her easily. Her scent perfumed the air; and he didn't know how he knew but he knew if he tried enough he could find her where ever she went.

Reid made his tightly fisted hands relax, then he made himself walk back to his table and just sit there and ponder the shitty hand that life had dealt him, just as he'd originally planned.

* * *

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. All consequences have actions. Her mother taught her that when she was little. But Evelyn thought she knew it all. No one could tell her nothing she didn't already know. She ran high on life and she had a wild streak that ran three counties wide.

That was what attracted Glenn to her in the first place, her wild side and the fact that she didn't care what anyone thought as long as it was about her. She was a free spirit.

Freedom comes with sacrifice. Freedom isn't free. She knows that now, only the realization came too damn late and there was nothing she could do to fix her mistakes now.

She would have to suffer and watch her son pay for them. All because she had nothing better to do back than –pitiful. What a great mother she turned out to be. Glenn and her had single- handily managed to doom their children, their babies to hell.

"I don't believe this," Evelyn mumbled to herself as barely resisted the urge to lash out and break everything in the room.

"I need to talk to you," a voice said coolly from behind her. She turned slowly to come face to face with Glenn. Almost immediately the tension cackled between them and she just wanted to drag him into the nearest corner and have her way with him. Just like they used to.

"We need to talk…just me and you, not the others…just us." His gentle brown eyes were flashing in temper, the vein above his eye twitched and he was breathing heavily.

"_Well?_" She asked coolly, leaning against the couch , not missing the way his eyes followed her moments and stayed trained her bare thigh.

This sin was what got them into this mess in the first place. But when he was looking at her like that, it was so hard to give a damn. Sin had never looked so good as it did on Glenn Simms.

"I know that you know what's going on Evie, and I'd rather discuss it with you first before you go share with the group."

She didn't bother asking him how he knew what she had been up to for the past few hours. He didn't need to ask, he already knew. He always knew.

"It's already starting," Evelyn said softly, her eyes brimming with the tears she held back before. It was impossible to hold back anything from him.

Glenn wanted to put his hand over her mouth and stop her from swinging that axe down on everything. Nothing would ever be the same again. It was all spinning out of control. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't fix it.

Now he knew would they all mean, when they say everyone will pay for their sins. Maybe not right after but eventually.

"They are coming for them Glenn, and even if they beat them back the Elders will _**never stop.**_ Never stop coming until they **slaughter **ever last one of them. Won't stop until our babies are _dead_. "

* * *

_A/n: That's the end of this chapter. If your confused about how Evelyn and Glenn had managed to doom the Sons to their tragic fate. Don't worry it will all be sorted out in the next chapter._

_Speaking of the next chapter it's one its way up._** I would love if you reviewed both chapters.**_ I love the feedback on my OC characters and their interactions since I've never done an O.C. story before and want to make sure everything stays as realistic as a supernatural themed story can be._

**Hope you enjoyed!**

_Dee._


	7. Heir To The Sinners Prt2

**Heir To The Sinners Prt. 2 **

**A/n: Again I just want to thank everyone for the reviews! I really appreciate it! They make me a very happy person! Lol **

**WARNING: SEXUAL CONTENT! Please read with CAUTION ! Thank you! **

**

* * *

**It was one of _those_ nights. The kind that made Michaela Maria (call me Maria or else) wonder why she bothered leaving her comfy dorm room in the first place.

"How many times can a person get lost in a building where she's lived the whole of her life?" _Well most of it anyway. _

The number seemed to be infinite.

Of course, it would' help if she could stay focused, but she had the attention span of a sick flea.

No, actually she had the attention span of an artist who seldom stayed focused on the here and now. Like an out-of-control slingshot, her thoughts drifted from one topic to the next and then back again. Her mind was constantly wandering and sifting through new ideas and techniques— the novelty of the world around her and how best to capture it.

To her there was beauty everywhere and in every little thing. It was her job to show that beauty to others. She was thinking about what she could sketch for this years of wonders art contest. Torn between a candid still life of the either the lounge or the cafeteria or a detailed portrait; when she walked right into a wall

Only it wasn't a wall, she realized, as two solid arms wrapped around her to keep her from stumbling. Looking up, she froze. Speaking of beauty! Her breath caught in her throat. Okay, now she was majorly impressed. Ay, Caramba was she impressed! She stared into a face so well formed that she doubted even a Greek sculptor could do justice to it.

Maria couldn't breathe. Every inch of him was pressed intimately against her and she became instantly aware of the fact that his arms weren't the only part of his body that was rock-hard and solid. The man was a wall of sleek, strong muscle. His hips rested dead center between her legs while his hard, taut stomach leaned against her in a way that brought a flush to her cheeks. Made her feel hot and tingly. Breathless.

For the first time in her life, she wanted to lift her head and kiss a man whom she knew absolutely _nothing_ about. Who was he? To her complete shock, he lowered his head down to the side of her face and took a deep breath in her hair. Maria cocked her head and shrugged her shoulders. Whatever floated his gorgeous boat.

And he was gorgeous. His jaw was strong and defined, his cheekbones high. His face was aristocratically boned, and he had just the tiniest hint of a cleft in his chin. Oh baby, this man possessed that rare masculine beauty that only a few,_very_ lucky women ever saw in the flesh.

Better still, he had the best looking lips she'd ever seen. Full and expressive, that mouth had been made for long, hot kisses. His autumn and golden colored hair seemed to glow in the dim hallway lights and the planes of his face… Perfect. Simply perfect. Totally symmetrical. Wow.

Without thinking, she reached up, grabbed his chin and turned his face to see it from different angles. No, not an optical illusion. No matter the angle, his features were perfection incarnate.

Wow, again. Absolutely flawless.

She needed to sketch this.

No. Oils. Oils would be better.

Pastels!

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you standing there. But do you know your face is pure perfection?"

"Ummm what?" He asked , his hazel eyes widening in confusion and maybe a twinge of fear. He looked as if he just saw a ghost. His voice was deep , and it rumbled through her with a devastating effect.

A pixie, melodious, and slightly wicked laugh danced it's way through her body, sending an odd tingly surge through Tyler. It was an ancient pull that he couldn't deny if he didn't want to. Strange thing was he didn't want to move in the least.

"Only admiring your genetics," She whispered with a teasing grin , neither one of them moving. "I'm Maria, I offered you my hand but right now it's resting on your hip."

"I'm umm Tyler." She almost laughed outright at his nervous. She didn't bite. Unless asked of course. If he could move his hands she pictured him either tugging at his tie or running his fingers through that gorgeous Mcsteamy like hair.

Who knew Reid's best friend was any artists wet dream?

* * *

Chase awoke with a start, a scream dying on his lips and his body shaking. Seriously starling Arly who only a few seconds ago was sleeping peacefully, snuggled against her chest.

"Chase?" She placed a gentle hand on his chest and even in the dark he knew she was staring up at him with concern glittering in her hazel eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He whispered gruffly as he kissed the top of her head, holding her close to fight off the world of swirling ice and darkness, and the cruel, ancient, hungry eyes there that promised revenge for his failure.

He knew now what was going on but he wasn't shaking anymore. All his weakness, confusion, anger and bitterness of being denied that family, that bond with someone, _anyone_ that he so desperately craved during his childhood and youth had evaporated. He had heard the challenge, heard the game, and understood. Knew what he had to do.

_He could never pass up a challenge._

He wasn't afraid now. Wouldn't be manipulated now. He was stronger than he had ever been before-stronger than he had known he could be. And he knew what he had to do.

"Right," He said and heard his own voice, clear and cold, like a trumpet. "He wants a new game? He'll get it. I know I can beat him now,"

"Chase what are you talking about -" Arly began, looking at him fearfully.

Chase shook his head in way that meant he would explain when there was time, and straightened his shoulders. "I can beat him," He said again with complete confidence. To picture in his minds eye of Caleb standing defiantly in the rain ready to fight until he collapsed he said, "En garde, Caleb. It's not over till it's over."

_Look out Ipswich here I come.._

_

* * *

_

Jezebel Torrance LeGrande clutched her beloved book to her chest to keep it dry and prayed it wouldn't still smell like tomato soup tomorrow as she all but stumbled into her softly lit, newly but subtly incensed dorm room. Her heart pumped a chaotic beat while her mind carried on a fierce debate with her underused libido-and despite her common sense and knowing the reputation of the one Reid Garwin; it looked like her sex-deprived inner wild woman was winning.

"Like that should come as a shock." She quietly snickered groaning at her body's undying reaction the school playboy. Reid was certainly a fine specimen, a giant two-timing self-absorbed jerk but one hell of a fine specimen. Even if he was slightly off is rocker muttering about the plague, easy woman, bad karma, and something about Caleb Danvers and his dominos before slumping down on the cafeteria table like he was told someone killed his beloved puppy. The man was completely insane. "And even knowing that didn't manage to cool your body down your slut." She jokingly muttered under her breath as she tossed her jacket on her bed and tenderly placed her book down on her desk.

It was a depressing thought, but there was no denying she's been a long time without a boyfriend. Heck , she'd been a long time without a simple date. She was a year short of twenty meant to be living the life to the fullest and breaking all the rules .. and instead she practically became a nun shutting herself in her dorm room with only her beloved books for company.

Not that a few short-lived and completely horrid relationships counted for much in the way of past experiences but she knew that she had high expectations when it came down to that sort of thing. Expectations she doubted any man would ever meet.

No , Jezebel understood the males species for what they were and more importantly for what they weren't. Jezebel wasn't the type of girl to settle for anything she didn't want and she sure as hell wasn't the type to be used. Brody Fisher, one of Aaron's useless flunkies found out the hard way with a defiant knee to the groan. As a result, no one in their fancy, overly priced private school dared ask out "Hard Head, Anal Retentive .To stuck up to give it up ,prude Jezzie."

_Yes she did listen to gossip. _

And she stood by her decision to be alone with her books rather than be used and abused by a guy who wasn't worthy of her. But God. It wasn't easy when dealing with the temptation she had to endure staring into Reid's blue-gray steel eyes in the cafeteria. They still had the soma effect on her now as they did in her youth. They were compelling—hypnotic. Drawing her closer, and drawing her in.

Reid was always the focus of her childhood prince charming dreams since primary school, only lately he seemed to be coming from the really , really, naughty ones, she thought with a small crooked smile.

She had been dreaming about the famous playboy every night for the past two weeks. Not that she was surprised he was her first crush after all and even after all these years , and the days of him pulling her hair in class or pushing her off the play ground swings had faded something about him always kept like spark alive in her.

She didn't know why , she had more common sense than to be used by someone as faithless as he was self centered and shallow as Reid Garwin. But her libido just couldn't seem to resist him. He was _irresistible._

"Hey Jezzie. When you going to stop mumbling to yourself and say hello to your new roomate." Maria called out from Jezzie's bed, not looking up from the Cosmo magazine she was currently engrossed in waving her hand in the general direction of her new roommate. A big, beautiful girl, who was short and voluptuous. She had a mane of sunburned color hair and her pale skin was touched with the glow of confidence and power.

"Oh, uh.. hey…" Jezebel called back feeling her face turn red when she suddenly realized she had been standing in the doorway, lost in her own little world.

With a quick look around the dorm room, Jezebel saw that her new roommate had been busy setting up her side of the room just the way she wanted it. She was reluctantly happy to realize that her new roommate had a healthy collection of books too.

"Hi I'm Kelly." Her voice was low for a girl's vibrant and almost husky paired with a slow southern drawl.

"Jezebel." Her voice, by contrast, was noticeably unenthusiastic. She must of looked tense and uncomfortable because Maria was glaring at her in her famous "your being unsociable death glare" and Kelly had a slightly ticked frown forming.

_Oh well._ Jezebel was not one for small talk. In fact, conversation in general with new people tended to make her bit twitchy, so she didn't bother with it.

"So Kelly where are you from?" Maria asked, saving Jezebel from her conversation nightmare. She so hated new people.

"Originally Wimberley Texas, but I moved to Honesdale Pennsylvania when I was five. Been there ever since."

Jezebel watched her fidget comfortable as she twisted her blue comforter in her fingers and chewed nervously on her lower lip. She may be confident, but feeling unwelcome can make anyone nervous. Jezebel felt slightly guilty she knew what it felt like to be unwelcome.

"That's a pretty necklace, where did you get?" Maria asked ditching her fashion magazine and turning her sparkling jay blue eyes Kelly's way. Jezzie saw it as Maria's famous distraction mode while Kelly took it as a welcome sign.

She smiled gratefully her eyes on her face as she studied Maria. At least someone seemed to like her. The girl was tall and slender, with a pretty, pixieish face and haunting jay blue eyes, along with an incredibly long cascade of hair that obscured her face as she bent over to push something off Jezebel's bed with a disgusted sigh. That hair—Kelly couldn't take her eyes off it. It was like moonlight and sunlight woven together—and it was natural. No dark roots. She had never seen anything so beautiful.

They both turned as Jezebel cleared her throat and hesitantly made her way into the room. "Why don't we have a pizza party and I can help you with your class schedule and tell you all about the professors and stuff?" She chewed on the curl on her long hair nervously. She hated being nice. So awkward.

"That would be nice." Kelly said with a nod of her head and pleased smile. Jezebel settled on her own bed next to Maria and dug through her drawer for the mini phone book they kept in there.

Now maybe Maria would get to spill about the Hottie in the hallway!

**_Yay_ **she thought with a smile.**She was so looking forward to that.**

**

* * *

**

It was ten minutes to till one, September wind chilled an already cold night. Dried leave clung to the trees fluttering wearily in the breeze. Kathryn Hart was standing in a large secluded clearing; some call it a grove, others the Nemeton. The tall trees flanking three sides of this magical place stand firm and regal, their dark shrouded limbs beckoning secrecy and protection. A mist creeps upon the ground. Light and slivery, it tickles the hems of pants legs and long, heavy gowns, and then caresses cloaks and capes of many hues. The moon begins its journey across the heavens, casting rippling beams of ivory magic upon all below. As before, she is one among the many – young and old, robust and slender. A sea of faces, each barely masking taut anticipation, wavers before her. Eyes of all ages examine the grove carefully. Are they satisfied that all is ready? Are they happy with their choices? Do they really think this is right thing to do? Murdering children? Whispers undulate in the mist, weaving threads of fear and curiosity among the people. She can feel it. She glances at a lone woman who stares at the poisoned heavens, her lips set in a determined line. Her gray cloak swirls about her in a breath of chill evening air. She pads gracefully to the center of the circle, moving through deep flickering shadows created by the surrounding torchlight. Kathryn's attention for the moment in drawn away from the old woman and on to the whisperings of the people.

"What shall we do?" mouths an Ariel Winters, to her companion.

"Don't think tonight will change anything." The young man whispers sending a wary toward the center of the circle and ultimately toward the woman.

"All has not been well for the people since your last visit." Says the woman beside her. "Though, the elders are good at hiding it." The woman eyes flicker towards the elders making sure they were not looking her way before turning back toward the man her eyes wide with fear. "There are rumors out there about the you know what!" She whispered in a mixture of awe and fear.

"The soulmate-" A young widow named Rain started only to be cut off hurriedly.

"Hush now! Don't speak it, don't even think it!" Another woman who name was the opposite of her personality- Sunshine demanded, fear in her iris as she smacked her daughter in the head. "You know what they did to the last ones; don't make the Elders think your aligning yourself with _them_." She spit on the ground as if she said an unholy word. "It's us versus them. Don't be on the wrong side or even suspected of it or you'll end up like Wayne Perry and Joseph Garwin."

Kathryn gave a startled gasp as her body trembled in unadulterated terror. She had done everything she could to protect them. She lied, hid, and even killed to keep it a secret. Yet it was all for nothing. When this was over, she knew in her heart she would die for her treachery.

She gave another shudder as the group mind touches her. It is a fleeting thought, a stab of panic. Despair snakes through their energy. She can feel the dread of the others around her mix with her own. Suddenly she knows why they were all called here. To summon the Ancient Ones. To bring judgment down on those who dare to threaten the reign of the Elders. Bloody thirsty killing machines with no off switch. They were ruthless mercenaries who would never stop coming until the intended target was dead; they were a vast and abundant army from the deepest pits of hell. Who killed who ever they were told with no questions asked.

She watches on with a heavy heart as the woman in gray prepares the needfire, bowing reverently as the flames take hold. A hush envelops the grove as the flames rise to the heavens, licking and spitting sparks that refuse to die.

Every man, woman, and child draws closer to the fire. They clasp hands. An old woman puts her booted foot next to the instep of the man beside her, and he does the same to the person beside him. The entire circle links and becomes one. The group hearts beats as one: frantically in fear. In silence, the woman lays her hands upon a mound of dirt near the needfire. Eyes closed, she speaks softly. She utters words only the gods can hear. Moving to a bowl of water, she repeats the procedure. From a pocket in her gray wooden cloak, she withdraws a handful of powdered herbs. With a delicate lick of her wrist, she throws the powder into the jaws of the flames, murmuring with the hiss and spit of the wood. Arms outstretched, she steps back. Mist and fragrance rise in a voluminous cloud above the sanctuary.

Many around her inhale the sacred breath of the elements. Shutting her eyes, she too, breathes slowly. A warm sense of peace of love encircles thanks to the elders. She knows it isn't her true emotions what she feels is anguish, remorse and dread but she buys into it all the same , the way one takes morphine to the dull the pain.

The creeping mists and rising fragrance coalesce above the needfire. She senses there are a few in the sacred grove who wish to break free and run. She's one of them but she can hide it. The mind of the elders holds them and unknowingly her firm – _"this must not happen." _She can feel the mental touch and hear the voices of the strong and pure as they pull together the scattered energies of those attempting to free themselves.

"The circle has not yet been cast." Sputters a young woman as she desperately tries to pull back but it is too late. It is always too late. She thought bitterly.

"Hush!" Hisses the old woman in front of her. "Be quiet and help Mary-Ann don't fight. Please don't fight." The old woman adds in plea glancing nervously at the elders as they glare menacingly at the young girl, their looks confirming what the old woman already knew. Mary –Ann would be punished for her waywardness and lack of faith to the cause.

The form above the needfire tightens and the elders pull forward again. The woman in the circles kneels beside the mound of dirt, digging her hands deep, cupping the soft loam in her palms. She rises, lifting her cupped hand to her breast.

"As the sands of time dissolve into the oneness of the universe, I call forth the Ancient Ones to protect us and impart their wisdom. Ancestors of old arise now and join the human bridge that awaits you." So saying, she opens her arms slowly, then parts her fingers, allowing the dirt to patter to the ground. From the shadows cast by the flickering needfire, spirits of those beloved pass among the living. The woman in the circle raises her arms and clasps her hands together, index fingers extended, pointing to the needfire.

A blue dot appears in the center of the needfire; it expands into a brilliant blue circle. Rushing out and encompassing all present, it forms a protective bubble around the entire company, above and below.

"As above, so below!" shouts the witch, "this circle is sealed!" The howl of wind and wolves rings in the ear of all, yet nothing physically moves.

"He's coming, he's coming!" Shouts an excited child. The elders smile approvingly; the child will be one of them one day.

Her heart pounds in fear. Oh goddess no!

The woman again points to the needfire. The crowd begins to stamp the ground as they chant the words of the woman; the hair on the back of her neck begins to rise.

A scream.

A crack

The ground rumbles, the tress shudder, but the people hold firm. From beneath the earth the cries of birth, sound cutting the air with a living frenzy, pouring forth into the circle. The center of the need fire pulses and expands. Electrified air fills her nostrils as defeat fills into every pore of her body.

No one can help the Sons of Ipswich now.

* * *

Kelly moaned as she felt a warm, strong hand sliding over her bare stomach to her hip. Instinctively, she turned into the caress, her body instantly on fire with need. Caleb rolled her over, onto her back, and captured her lips with his. Her head swam at the contact. At the feel of all his strength and power. Never in her life had she felt anything better than his tongue on hers. Or his exquisitely hard body sinuously sliding against her.

She burned even more. His kiss was fierce and hot, yet strangely tender. Closing her eyes, she breathed in the spicy scent of his skin and tasted the heat of his mouth. She ran her hands through the silk of his shoulder length hair, delighting in the way the waves curled around her fingers.

He pulled back and stared down at her with a powerful hunger that made her burn as those gorgeous muscles of his shoulders bunched and flexed under her hands. "Mine," he said fiercely, his voice possessive.

"All yours. Always," she said, smiling as she wrapped her legs around his hips. His devilish, smile took her breath. With her cradled in his arms, he rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him. Kelly bit her lip as she stared down at his handsome face while she felt his hard, masculine body between her thighs.

Needfully, she rubbed herself against his long, hard shaft. He growled in response to her caress. He swept a famished look over her, then reached up and cupped her breasts in his warm hands. She covered his hands with her own as he squeezed them gently.

"I could stare at you all night," he whispered.

She could definitely relate because nothing would please her more than watching him move around naked for the rest of eternity. That walk… that body… It was more than she could handle. He lifted his hips, sending her forward. Kelly caught herself with her arms. She leaned over him, her hair falling around her face to form a blonde canopy over them.

"Now that's what I want." Caleb reached up to cup her face and pulled her lips to his. His mouth teased hers as he gently sucked her bottom lip between his teeth. Kelly moaned at the contact as he trailed his hand from her breast down her side and to the center of her body. "And this is what I want most." He plunged two fingers inside her.

She hissed in pleasure as his fingers teased her relentlessly. In and out and around they swirled, making a hot fire to consume her.

He pulled back from her lips. "Now tell me what you want."

"You," she breathed.

"You already have me," Caleb moved his hands to her hips and pressed her body toward his erection. "The question now is what are you going to do with me?"

Oh she had a lot of ideas in mind. Biting her lip expectantly, she longed to feel him inside her. To have his fullness stretch her body while they shared the most intimate of experiences.

She felt the tip of his shaft pressing against her core. Just as she was sure he'd slide inside, something flashed in her subconscious. A opening of a door?

Kelly came awake with a start.

Dazed, she glanced around the unfamiliar room and it took a full minute before she remembered she was asleep in her new dorm room.

"Oh, it's so not fair," she groused as she rolled over in her bed to face the door it had just been getting _really_ good.

She saw something out of the corner of her eye, a flash of sliver? And no sooner did her head turn did a hand slap over her mouth and squeeze tight. A fission of fear went down her spine as a dark figure seemed to materialize right in front of her.

"Don't scream."

* * *

**A/n: Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It is the longest one to date! Hope this makes up for my horrible updating habit!**

**Thanks for reading and hope you review**

**D.**


	8. Down The Rabbit Hole Part One

**A/n: I've been on quite a hiatus, a good two years. I haven't written anything in that time frame. And, when I logged back on to the site for the first time in two years I didn't think I was going to start writing again. I just felt the urge to sneak a peek. My inbox was flooded with requests and questions regarding this story. People wanting to know if I was posting it somewhere else or if I had abandoned/discontinued it.**

**I was touched and honored that so many people had felt so positively about something that I had wrote. How could I not continue?**

* * *

_**Title: Down The Rabbit Hole Part One:**_

**"Don't scream."**

Fear sat on the tip on of Kelly's tongue, as bitter as an aspirin waiting to be swallowed. It possessed a sharp, acidic flavor that made her mouth water in the way that it does when you're about to be sick, while her eyes burned with a stinging wash of gathering tears. She willed them back with the sheer stubborn force of her will, reminding herself again and again that she wasn't one to cower.

But it was hard. Terror consumed her. Closed around her like a physical vise, banding her chest, making it difficult to draw enough air into her lungs. The muscles in her throat quivered, and Kelly wondered if she was about to lose her dinner. The fear threatened to overtake her, too huge and monstrous to evade, swallowing her like Jonah in his story of the whale. The kind of fear that covered your skin after a nightmare, sticky and cold and wet. A devastating sense of helplessness pierced through her, making her flinch

"Stop struggling," a deep, husky voice grunted in her ear. "I'm not going to hurt you."

As if to prove it, he gently lowered her body until her feet touched the ground, but didn't release his tight hold on her. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, the rapid panting of her breath making a quiet rasp through her parted lips. She willed herself to turn around and stare at him.

"I didn't mean to scare you." His mouth twisted, the hard cast on his face looking almost like regret. Though he stood right behind, his voice reached out to her like a thin, metallic stream of sound traveling over a great distance.

"I don't have much time left. You have to listen to me. It's important."

What?" She croaked, the word no more than a hoarse whisper.

"Listen to me," The stranger shouted, his features twisted with concern. "You have to warn him!"

"Warn who?" She shook her head in confusion, trying to make sense of the words as the room around her began to spin. At first, it moved in a slow, revolving shuffle, gaining speed second by second, the bed, the desk and the book shelf becoming a blur while Kelly stood trapped in its center, as if caught in the eye of a hurricane.

"Warn him before it's too late," The stranger told her, walking forward. Kelly stumbled back, her body quaking.

"They're coming for him. For all of them."

No sooner had the foreboding words left his lips, than the force of the spinning room caught hold of his body, wrenching her out of his hold. In a state of horror, Kelly watched the ravaging cyclone of her blurred dormitory carrying him away, his arms outstretched, reaching for her, and for some strange reason she could feel herself reaching out for him. But no matter how violently she struggled; her feet were rooted in place, sinking into the carpet beneath her as it gave way like quicksand.

The next thing she knew, she jerked awake with a scream trapped in her chest, skin damp with sweat. She no recollection of her nightmare, just the prickling feeling that she had been afraid and the frustration that there was something important she needed to remember.

But, she didn't dwell on it to long. The first day of classes was tomorrow and the last thing she wanted to do was sleep-walk through them.

* * *

Caleb jolted awake, frustrated fists gripping the sheets. The pain in his chest was so sharp, so cutting, that for a moment he couldn't breathe…couldn't move. Kelly was gone. Not that she'd ever been there to begin with. One moment she was in his arms, cradled between his thighs and the next she disappeared. Leaving a hollow, empty feeling in his gut.

With a groan of frustrated hunger, Caleb rolled onto his belly. Once, twice, again, he ground his hips into the tangled linen sheets, imagining he was right back where they had left off. Throwing back his head, he came with a growl, his fingers clamping the soft fabric of the pillow. Heart bounding, he collapsed, the taste of bitterness in his mouth.

Glancing he spotted Sarah was still sleeping soundly in a lumpy huddle of blankets and sheets. He had everything he thought he could ever want with in arms reach. Yet he was dreaming of a stranger he didn't even know.

"_**You know her."**_ His mind insisted.

Caleb scrubbed his hands down his whisker-rough face, feeling as if he were dangerously close to losing control.

Or maybe he never had it in the first place?

* * *

Chase dragged himself through the open door, collapsing across the bed, gasping as cracked ribs shot pain through his side. Sucking in a breath at a particularly nasty twinge just behind his right eye, he gritted his teeth together to keep from groaning out loud. He suspected he had a concussion to go with the busted ribs.

"_This is what I get for doing the right thing." _

Every muscle, joint, and bone in his body ached. Hell, even his fingernails felt like they were on fire. He could feel dried tears on his cheeks. He curled, clenched, and clenched his hand again, wincing in pain that even that simple movement bought. He could feel Arly entering the room. Her light foot steps as she crept toward the bed. Could feel her wince at the fihgt of his bruised and battered face. Could feel her heart pounding so hard it made his own heart ache.

"Did it worked?" she asked, he didn't even have to look at her to know she was pulling her lower lip through her teeth. He turned as much as his body would allow him to glance at her. She dropped down to sit on the edge of the bed. Her red hair was piled messily on the top of her head. She looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"Not yet," he grunted, staring at her mouth, at the precise point where her teeth pressed into her lip, before pulling his gaze back up to her eyes. "But it will."

She wrapped her arms over her front, as much to hold herself together as to keep warm. "I can't believe this is happening."

"_I swear you'll be safe, Arly. I won't let anything happen to you." _He promised himself silently. He would die before he let that happen.

"I didn't mean me," she whispered, reminding him of just how strong their bond was. There wasn't much he could keep from her. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she stared into his. And in the next moment he heard her saying, "What about you?"

Something silent and powerful passed through her gaze; something that reverberated through him, touching him deep inside, where he felt it in his blood and tissues and organs, pulsing in the very core of his body.

Since he didn't know what to say to that, he kept silent. He merely grabbed her hand, running his thumb across the fragile bones.

"You're going to have to come with me, Arly." His dark gaze—full of primitive, provocative intent—was piercingly direct as he stared down at her. He watched her throat quiver, tongue flicking nervously at her bottom lip. She was so afraid, and yet, despite her fear, she was drawn to him. "I really don't have any choice, do I?"

"Not if you want to live," Chase answered in a low, husky rumble that trembled through her system.

She swallowed hard, her words shaky and soft. "Where will we go?"

"Up to Ipswich. To my home."

* * *

And that is it for this part. Second part coming tomorrow morning / late tonight.

Here's a sneak peek: "...**S_he could taste the hunger in his kiss, the way he'd crushed her against him in desperation, as if he wanted to devour her right on the spot." _**

**Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading, hope to see some feedback/reviews. **

**Mucho Thanks**

**_Dee_**


	9. Down The Rabbit Hole Part Two:

**A/n: As promised here is the second part. I totally remember why I loved writing this story. All of the characters are so fun. :) **

* * *

_**Down The Rabbit Hole Part Two:**_

* * *

**Hannah Poltzer felt like a stalker**.

Standing outside the art room, she watched him her heart climbing into her throat and nearly strangling her. He stood with his back to her, leaning over an easel. Black pants hugged his ass, a white shirt clinging to his muscular back. Her throat went dry at the sight of him.

Hannah should have long ago outgrown her childish crush. After all, he'd picked Kate in the end of that drama anyhow.

She shook her head and forced the unwanted thoughts away. That was a long time ago. She was different now. Back from a semester aboard a changed women. Her hair was straight and blonde now instead of bushy and auburn, she was skinner and she ditched her glasses for contacts. All in determination not to go back to Spencer the social outcast she had been, instead the carefree and cheerfully wild Italian exchange student had found herself to be last semester.

One look at Pogue though and she wanted nothing more then to turn and run the other way. To crawl back into her hole of social oblivion where it was familiar and safe. She wanted nothing do with one Pogue Parry. .

_Expect you can't stop dreaming about him. So whom are you trying to fool? _

She groaned at her subconscious. Even now, three years later she could taste the hunger in his kiss, the way he'd crushed her against him in desperation, as if he wanted to devour her right on the spot. But then he'd pushed her away, and had taken up with Kate. Taken special care to avoid her all these years.

Lusting after a man who obviously didn't want you was a lesson in futility.

One lesson her body just couldn't seem to learn.

Then again, **_he_** had no business being so damn sexy he took her breath away. He

had no business letting his dark brown hair grow a little too long, making her itch to brush it away from his face. He had no business having eyes the color of aged whiskey, the kind that burned a hole through a woman's clothes when he looked at her. He had no business having a perfect six-foot frame chiseled in all the right places. He had no business making her crazy like this for all these years.

She was getting tired of always being on the losing end when it came to him.

Inhaling sharply to calm the butterflies in her stomach, Hannah swung open the art room door and walked in.

_Round one might be yours, Pogue Parry, but I don't concede defeat so easily. I hope you're prepared for war, because that's exactly what you're going to get._

_

* * *

_

**She was late.**

Late for her first damn class of the semester. But, wasn't her fault the hallways twisted, turned and seemed to rearrange themselves on her. The damn campus was huge.

"Oomph!" she grunted, silently cursing as she ran into what felt like a brick wall.

Her lungs and sides ached from her panicked run through the halls and now she felt dazed from the force of impact into what had felt like a solid barrier of pure brick. Not to mention the way her spine cracked when the backpack she had slung over one shoulder slammed into her side with a dull thud.

"I'm **SO **sorry. I'm late and I'm lost.. I wasn't paying attention.. the hallways" She rambled on before being cut off by the man who haunted her dreams last night.

"Slow down, and just take a deep breath," Caleb murmured above her head as her lungs continued to work hard and fast, his deliciously solid, arms pulling her tighter into his shirt-covered chest.

Then, with one big fist planted beneath her chin, he tilted her face up to his and, his molten whiskey-brown of his eyes seemed to drill straight through her, right down to her core. She watched with heavy-lidded, worried eyes as his nostrils flared, the heat burning hot and strong in that golden gaze, and she instantly began to relax. With one smooth movement, he took her backpack from her shoulder and slipped it over his own, then tightened his arms around her, pulling her even closer into the heat of his powerful body, making her choke on the haze of lust that seemed to surrounded her.

"What room are you looking for?"

"I202. I have French and it started like two minutes ago. I hate being late. It makes-" She snapped her mouth shut and blushed furiously as she realized she was rambling again.

Caleb just snickered under his breath, causing his chest to rasp against hers again. A boyish grin played at the corners of his sexy mouth. " Your in luck. Burton's always ten minutes late. He likes to make a dramatic entrance. I'll walk you there."

But he didn't let her go. In fact, Kelly didn't think it felt like he was planning on letting her go anytime soon, considering he'd clasped his hands at the small of her back, holding their lower bodies pressed together. For one quick second she could have sworn she saw that sliver cord haphazardly entangled around their joined bodies.

They stood there, trapped in the strangely charged moment, neither of them moving, and then she noticed the muscle twitching in his hard jaw, as he brushed a wayward strand of blonde hair behind the shell of her ear. Her heart dropped into her stomach with jolting, head-spinning speed.

Just as quick as it started, he suddenly paused as if catching himself, and then quickly pulled away from her. He cleared his throat awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as if he was in pain.

"I'm known to create awkward moments. Apparently it followed me here. ," She joked with a small smile, trying to hide her disappointment.

_Where had that thought come from? _

"We better get going." There was a troubled frown on his face for just a moment before he pushed it back. " We don't want to push our luck." He winked but the playful gesture didn't quite reach his eyes.

_Hmm_…as Alice would say. _Curiouser and curiouser_

_

* * *

_

**"What did you just call me?"** Jezebel demanded through clenched teeth as she turned to glare at the blonde who currently just plopped himself in the seat next to her.

"Frosty." Reid said with a shrug flashing her a wicked grin that curled the edges of his mouth, suggestive and teasing. "However," he rumbled, the word rolling off his tongue like a sweet temptation that she couldn't wait to taste. "I don't think there's anything cold about you sweetheart."

Her pulse quickened, despite the knowledge that he was just toying with her.

_He has to be. Right?_

The guy could have any woman he wanted—_any woman_—and she was willing to bet her academic record that he had.

Jez shook her head in denial, wanting to pull the thick mass of her long hair in front of her and use it like a shield, to cover herself. Swallowing the thick, exciting lump of lust in her throat, she said the only thing that she knew with any certainty. "This isn't going to work."

Why?" One word. Hard. Bitten out from between his tight lips.

Her gaze shifted to a point on the wall behind his right shoulder, refusing to meet his fierce stare. "I need to focus. I can't have you yapping in my ear the entire class."

He cocked his head to the side as he studied her, she watched him shake his head in confusion, shaggy blond hair tumbling over his brow before he pushed it back with a frustrating swipe of one big hand "Do I distract you, Frosty?"

"Not in this lifetime." She hissed, color flaming her cheeks. "I don't know what your doing. Or what bet you lost, but your wasting your time. Now go back to your seat. You don't belong here."

_Or in my dreams for that matter._

"You think you've just got it all figured out, don't you, Frosty? And if I'm not careful, you'll have me fooled into thinking you really are that little Ice Queen everyone whispers about."

Her spine went ramrod straight and the closed expression falling over her face , telling him he'd hurt her with that one, but damn it, he was fighting for his life here. And if he had to get down and dirty to get through to her, then he'd do just that.

"I don't have to sit here and be insulted by you."

"Hell yes, you do. If insulting you is the only way I can get your attention, then I'll shell out as much as it takes."

She squeezed her eyes shut, then slowly opened them, meeting his stare. The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them " Why the sudden unwelcomed interest?"

"Unwelcomed? Are you sure about that Frosty?" He was still for the span of ten seconds as he watched her and then he smiled and she just knew whatever he was going to be bad.

Uh-oh, she thought with a sick feeling burning in her stomach as she watched him stalk away from the desk and slowly advanced on her. He didn't stop until he stood directly in front of her, so close that she had to tip back her head to look him in the face. So close that she could see the slight ring of blue around the iris of his seductive grey eyes, the tips of his lashes and the small, faint scar above his temple.

Jezebel glared up at him as he glared down at her and their mouths almost touched, so that when he growled at her, she could actually feel the heady warmth of his breath against the sensitive surfaces of her lips. And for a second it looked as if a sliver piece of string was hovering over them. She brushed it off a trick of the light, or a hallucination triggered by frustration.

"As for sudden," he rasped in a husky, seductive drawl, "if you don't think I've noticed you before, then you're not nearly as smart as I've always thought you were."

She felt momentarily dazed. But that wasn't the worst of it. No, the worst was watching the smug satisfaction cross his face, as if he'd catalogued her every reaction, knowing exactly how he affected her. With one last smug look in her direction, he moved to his usual desk at the top of the room. But the look in his eyes clearly said it, whatever it was- was far from over.

* * *

**Tyler couldn't stop looking at her.** Her elfin face dominated by perceptive jay blue eyes. A loose red shirt skimmed down her rangy, athletic body to the tops of her thighs. The shirt was smudged with oil paint— peaches, browns, ochers, blues. Matching smears marked her fingers and the bridge of her slim nose. Every time her full lips parted, carnal images spun through his mind.

Maria propped her chin on her fist and smiled slightly as she poked her head around the easel. "Shouldn't I be the one staring at you?"

Tyler blushed to the tips of his ear but he managed to smirk. " I can't help myself."

Maria giggled and flashed him a wink. "Keep talking like that and I just might let you have your wicked way with me."

_Oh God, how he hoped so._

He really did.

* * *

**It happened the minute she walked into the room.** There was an instant flash of recognition. It crashed through him harder than anything he'd ever experienced, like a shockwave that shook him to his core. It was reverent and spiritual and sexual all at once. It ripped him apart and then put him back together again.

On a **primal** level Pogue Parry recognized her as **_his._**

The minute her sweetly addictive scent melted into his skin, into his bones and blood and the violent, erratic pounding of his heart. She smelt earthy and rich. He wanted to roll the evocative flavor around on his tongue, savoring it like some strange, illicit pleasure. He was convinced her scent was woven into the very fabric of his soul, imprinted upon his senses like a tattoo needled into his skin.

On an **intellectual** level he recognized her as Hannah Poltzer. The bookish-looking girl had blossomed into a woman who, if not classically beautiful, was the most attractive thing he'd ever set eyes on. She was so…Christ, he didn't even know how to describe it.

The only thing that stayed the same was his reaction to the sight of her. Even then, Pogue thought was beautiful. Inside and out. She made his blood surge, his palms damp and caused his heart to hammer as he watched her walk into the room. Just like before. And just like before, his muscles were hard with tension, biceps bulging against the seams of his shirt, his skin fever-hot despite the chill of the air. Blood pumped through his veins in a powerful, heavy rhythm, his heart hammering like a drum, senses honed to a razor's edge, sharp and precise.

And it was all because of a girl. All because of Hannah Poltzer.

The precise reason he stayed away from her in the first damn place. She made him crazy. He couldn't think straight around her. Not even when they were 15 years old.

He couldn't help himself. He just had to ask her how her semester abroad was. And right there in front of everyone. Timid, and shy Hannah shot him down flat. As soon as the question left his mouth she laughed, the warm sound dark and wicked and rich, and she smiled just a little at him.

"If I didn't know better—" Her blue eyes burned a hole through him. "—I'd think you sound as if you actually care. But we both know that isn't true, don't we, Parry?"

Then, as he didn't matter, as if he didn't exist, she turned and walked away.

_Just. Like. That._

Oh, no.** No way**. She was out of her ever-loving mind if she thought she was getting away that easily.

There maybe no way on god's green earth was he going allow himself to feel anything for her. He wasn't going to let himself end up as pathetic as his father. But Hannah Poltzer belonged to _**him.**_ There was no denying that. No denying the pull he felt in his soul. The pull he had always felt, since the day he had met the little imp.

And he was going to make damn sure she knew just whom she belonged to.

If he had to suffer, well then so did she. That was all there was to it.

* * *

A/n: Hope you enjoyed. I hope you leave some feedback too! ( So many hits, over 534 but not a single review. I was kind of disappointed.) I was would love to know who your favorite couples are, and who you would like to see more of. I'm insanely curious!

Thanks for reading! :)

Dee.


	10. The Big, Big, Bang Part One

_**The Big, Big Bang Part One:**_

_A/n:  Thank you so much for all the reviews! I was quite thrilled when my email blew up with everyone's praise. Special thanks to F*ckmylife1989 who reviewed every chapter. That was so sweet of you! It made my day. And Niffer 01 and Kris Knight whose review's made me blush. I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this story._

_I'm just sorry it took this long to get an update out. I'm a senior in college, and sometimes I just get swamped without notice_.

* * *

_**"To take me all the way. You got me right here.**_

_**Combustible. and I can't wait to finally explode.**_

_**The big big bang, the reason I'm alive,**_

_**When all the stars collide, in this universe inside.**_

_**The big big bang." – Big Bang by Rock Mafia**_

_**

* * *

**_

**It had only been a week.** A week and God, he _was a mess. _Caleb Danvers was a wreck. Kelly was the most tempting thing he had ever seen in his life. Even in her typical jeans and an oversized tee shirt. A temptation he didn't need. She was built in all the right places. Every time he saw her, his nether regions saluted its appreciation of her body. He had fought to stay the hell away from her but it was impossible. Something inside him kept reminding him that he could claim it for his own…if he wanted. It was all his for the taking. She was all his for the taking.

His fascination with her that had built inside him – it ate at him. Every time he caught a glimpse of her a surge of heat arced through him, making the air tingling with electricity. The tension was hot, blistering in intensity. The dreams were endless. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her. Felt the caress of his lips against his heated skin and the sound of her screaming his name. Breathtaking images of naked limbs and clutching hands or his favorite fantasy so far, her cuffed naked to his bed, and pleading with him to fuck her. He imagined she might scream and writhe and claw at him, but she wouldn't be happy until she'd taken every inch he had to give her, and the thought had him breaking out in a hot, shivering sweat.

_Damn. _

The dreams haunted him. He'd known, from that first moment he held her in his arms in the hallway that he had to do whatever it took to keep her in his life, close by, where he could at least have more stolen opportunities, like that one, to see her and talk to her. In class he struggled like hell not to grab hold of her and fuck the consequences and just catch her up in his arms, and take her back to his room where he could enact every single one of the raunchy, frenzied, mind-shattering sexual fantasies he'd lived off of since first setting eyes on her.

Christ, it felt as if he'd wanted her forever. It wasn't until Sara set down beside at the lunch table that he even remembered she existed. The guilt hummed through him. He needed to get it through his thick skull once and for all. Kelly was not, nor was she ever going to be, his. He had Sara who was perfect for him. He swallowed the bitter taste of reality and forced himself to stop staring at her. He'd bury himself in school work, work until he couldn't fucking see straight, and maybe…just maybe, he'd be able to forget, for even a moment, how badly he wanted her.

* * *

**"She has to be the most stubborn, independent, irrational woman I've had the misfortune to meet." **Reid slammed his backpack down, ignoring Tyler's mocking snort behind him as he slapped down the textbook he had pulled out from his backpack onto his desk.

"You act like you're surprised, buddy," Tyler laughed as he leaned back in the chair in front of Sax's desk and watched him with amusement. "You've known her for three years and just figured that one out?"

Reid sat down heavily in his own chair and regarded his best friend with a frown.

"I don't appreciate the amusement you're finding at my expense, Tyler," he snarled back.

Tyler just chuckled at that one. He told Reid that his would happen to him someday and he would pay for all his womanizing ways.

"I swear to God, Tyler, I can't understand her."

"Tell you what." Tyler leaned forward in his chair, watching Reid with a knowing glint in his eyes. "Let's go to Maria's. We'll see if she has any ideas. She knows Jezebel better than anyone. If anyone knows how to find her weakness, it's her."

Reid tapped his gloved fingers against the leather arm of his chair. Tyler was right. Maria would make a great conspirator. He moved quickly to his feet, ignoring Tyler's amused laughter. "Don't even start man. You're just using me as an excuse to spend some time with Maria."

Tyler's baby blue eyes shifted guiltily and Reid couldn't help but smirk. "Whose laughing now baby boy?"

* * *

**It irritated the hell out of Pogue Parry that he'd been reduced to mooning over Hannah from across the classroom.** But damn if it wasn't true. There was no denying that he enjoyed the tight, hungry, kinda needy feeling the sight of her face put in the pit of his stomach. The kind of feeling he'd never thought to have there, twisting him into knots, and he was damned if he knew what to do about it. Normally, if there was a woman he wanted, he went after her with his intentions up front and with a brutal honesty. They'd share some mutually satisfying, physically intense, sweaty time between the sheets, and when the need was relieved, there was nothing more. No commitment, no messy emotions…and no pretending that their mutual physical appetites were going to lead them into deeper, unknown territory that he'd never felt the urge to explore.

At first, it had just plain pissed him off she could ignore him. Irked him that Hannah's smiling face, deep dimples, and sparkling cinnamon-brown eyes had changed all that. He'd struggled against it, like a fish snared by the cold steel of the hook, until he'd finally given in. Now he just hungered…and ached…and god only knew it was pathetic, but he yearned. That empty hollow in his gut twisted every time he caught sight of her.

_He needed more.  
_

It scared the shit out of him, but Pogue strongly suspected he needed a hell of a lot more—as in all of it, all of her, because this woman was different. This was different from anything he had ever known. Everything inside him wanted her. When he first set eye son her three years ago he knew she was different from any women he'd known, and different in the way that she made him feel.

Pogue rolled his head across the tight tension in his shoulders, but didn't take his eyes off the laughing vision Hannah made as she chatted on the phone, slim fingers clicking away at her keyboard with lightning speed.

Shit, it was like a virus that he couldn't shake, this craving to get as deep into her as he could possibly get. Visions danced in his head of those luminous eyes shocked wide pleasure, lips swollen and bruised from his kisses, cheeks flushed as he let loose all the pent up pent-up hunger he'd carried since setting eyes on her.

The need had slammed into him like a freight train. And he hadn't been thinking straight since.

For the first time in his life Pogue wanted a forever kind of thing if she'd let him have it- and that right there was the problem.

Pogue Parry didn't forever.

Hannah Poltzer released something in him, something primal and dark, and when it was finally set free, he feared it'd be like that first escape of pressure on something bottled up too tight.

Raging. Powerful. Explosive.

But he was determined not to let it take a hold of him. Determined not the let turn into more then a raunchy tumble that Kate never needed to know about.

Once he got Hannah out of his system then he could go back to normal.

* * *

**"So where did you say you were from again?" **Kelly asked as she weaved her way through lunch the crowd, making her way toward Kate and Pogue.

" Long Island. We moved here after my parents divorce." Her new friends mouth a sweetly curved into a bow made for a smile, yet Kelly didn't think she didn't it often. Not a genuine one anyway. Her frosty eyes were a golden brown, tilted a bit at the corners beneath slight wing shaped brows.

"Whose your new friend?" Kate asked she bit into her cucumber sandwich.

"Everyone this is Arly." Kelly announced proudly, moving aside to make room for a short, petite, redhead. "She just transferred in too!"

* * *

**Dunn Duunnn! And that is it for The Big, Big, Bang Part One. Part Two is coming up next! Look for it tomorrow morning.**

**Thanks for reading. And hope you review**

**Dee.**


	11. The Big, Big, Bang Part Two:

**The Big, Big Bang Part Two: **

_**A/n: Thank you so much for taking them time to write all those reviews. I believe I responded to each of them personally. But, if I didn't please let me know. Each and every one of them made me smile. I love knowing what everyone thinks about this story and who there favorite couples are.**_

_**WARNING:**_ This chapter is called the Big, Big, Bang for a reason. We will be drifting into topics of a _**SEXUAL NATURE**_. There will be some sensitive words, scenes and images. So don't say I didn't forewarn you._** If that ISN'T your thing. Please, PLEASE SKIP OVER THIS CHAPTER.**_

_**

* * *

**_

**Arly was doing exactly what he told her not to do**. She was getting attached. They were all so welcoming. Accepting her without pause. The Covenant was nothing like Chase had described them. Caleb wasn't arrogant. Reid wasn't as oblivious as he let the world believe. Pogue wasn't hardly as unfriendly as Chase had warned her he would be. And Tyler wasn't even close to being naive. In fact Arly was most worried about him in all of this.

The way Tyler watched her with hesitance and suspension. It was if he knew she was lying through her teeth, but didn't trust because he didn't know how he knew it.

She was going to have to walk on eggshells around him. As she ran the brush through her hair she looked at herself in the mirror and couldn't help but wonder why Chase wanted this so bad.

What was the point? The Covenant didn't seem so bad to her.

And without warning she felt his presence slam into her and she knew he was hiding somewhere amongst the shadows. Close enough that she could feel him but far away enough that she couldn't see him.

Chase was good at hiding when he didn't want to be found.

"Don't let them fool you, they aren't saints. I have to do this Arly. I have to because if I didn't then, love, I wouldn't win. And I have to win. Don't you understand that yet? I have to win – because I've given up too much to lose. It can't all be for nothing. So winning is all there is."

And just like that Chase was gone again. Leaving Arly more lost then ever before.

She didn't think she could do this.

* * *

**Kelly Paisley sighed a deep breath of relief as she walked into the library.** Thankful her murderous French test was done. And, of course she was over enjoyed that it was a Friday. She could use a night to unwind at Nicky's with Kate and Sara. But first she had to finish her dreaded History paper. With a disgruntled sigh she settled into her favorite table in the library. The one all the way in the back of the room. Kelly loved her little corner of the library. The university library was often full of students at any time of the day but she had located a hidden corner near the psychology texts on the third floor that rarely had visitors. There was a nice table and enough light to provide privacy for her to study or work on assignments. It was her own private sanctuary and she loved it.

She was busy cursing her history paper when she felt that tell tale shiver down the back of her spine.

Caleb was here.

She looked up and there he was, as handsome and as deadly as ever. Instantly, her mouth went dry and her face went hot, a prickly sensation of breathless suspense zinging beneath her skin. She rapidly fanned her face with one hand, wondering if her nachos from lunch were going to make another appearance as her tummy did this odd little flip and twist, reminding her of something she'd seen at Cirque du Soleil.

The late afternoon sun shone through the circular windows illuminating Caleb's mouthwatering physique, the long shafts of smoldering gold painting his tall, hard, muscle-ridged body with iridescent beams of heat, showing off the blatantly male strength beneath his faded jeans and soft charcoal gray T-shirt to perfection.

A small, dreamy sigh escaped her, and Kelly shook her head hard to regain her focus—but it wasn't easy when something that gorgeous stood no more than twenty feet from where she sat. A chill raced down her spine, making her shiver as the heat beneath her tingling skin flared hotter, and Kelly swore she could feel the physical waves of sharp, raw-edged power pulsing off that magnificent body and breathtaking face that invaded her dreams each night, like a thief stealing into her psyche.

She gulped and tried not to melt into a puddle of lust, as he spotted her, and starting headed her way. Quickly ran her hands through her hair, trying to tame the wild, wavy mass without looking like she was primping. Logically she knew he was off limits but no one had ever made her heart thrum and her body do the funny little shimmy from her privates to her eyebrows that this guy did. Heck, he even made her toes tingle, and she knew she had it bad.

As he reached her table, Kelly hardened her jaw and plastered on a smile, determined not to make such an ass of herself and silently sent up a fervent prayer for help to any God who might be listening, that she wouldn't reach over the table and jump him.

* * *

**Caleb was just going to get a psychology book for his Learning and Modification Class.** And lo and behold there she was, hidden in the corner, bent over her laptop and looking so damn beautiful. There was no way to avoid her, without making it obvious. He wasn't going to get out of this one.

_Not like you want to. _

Caleb shook of his telling thoughts and took a deep breath and walked to her table. Where he did the worse thing he ever could have done. He was alone with her. Alone with a smiling, bright-eyed, Kelly who looked so jumpy he was surprised she didn't bolt from her chair and make a run for it. But even as he walked forward, careful to keep his movements slow and easy, she took a deep breath and held her ground, making him admire her backbone. It was painfully obvious that he made her skittish, but she was too proud to run and hide, and he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her silly for not bailing on him. Hell, he wanted to pull her into his arms and act out every carnal fantasy he'd had since this whole soul mate thing had taken a hold of him.

"Hi," she all but sighed, and he couldn't miss the breathless edge of her voice in the simple word. That husky tone of hers that never failed to make him think of sex-tangled sheets and sweat-slick bodies.

"Mr. Barnes American Civilzation paper." He said, nodding toward her laptop. "How is it going? "

"Terrible." She licked her lower lip, and he nearly groaned at the sight of her pink little tongue stroking against the deep rose of her mouth. Using a slender hand adorned with silver rings, she pushed her shoulder length, silky-looking honey brown hair behind the dainty shells of her ears.

"I hate History." She mumbled, though the sexy as hell, lush line of her mouth was curling into a wry, self-deprecating grin. "I don't listen for the life of me and I have no idea what I'm doing."

She lowered her head to the surface of her desk and Caleb couldn't help but smile down at the crown of her head, enjoying the sight of her honey brown hair spilling over the surface, and watched as she reached out with her left hand, searching until she found her large, heavy Abnormal Psychology text book and without lifting her head, she picked up the textbook and held it out to him. "Please do me a favor and just put me out of my misery now," she said in a muffled voice. "A nice, swift bonk on my noggin with this should do the trick quite nicely, if it's not too much trouble."

Caleb let go the suffocated laughter he'd been holding in, unable to resist lowering one hand to stroke through her hair. She stiffened at the touch of his hand on her scalp, then at the side of her face as he gently pushed her hair back, trying to read her expression.

"Is that your way of asking for help?" Not trusting himself not to just reach out and pull her into his arms, Caleb shoved his hands deep into his jeans' pockets and rocked back on his heels waiting for her answer.

She nibbled on the inside curve of her upper lip, "It's Friday. You must have better things to do."

"Not until Nicky's later." He murmured in a low voice, losing himself for a moment in heated, erotic, gut-twisting visions of what he could be doing to her voluptuous figure on that desk. He wanted her laid out on his big bed and spread wide, where he could uncover, explore, and investigate all her sweet little secrets 'til his aching cock threatened to explode, learning everything there was to know about her. Claiming her all for his own.

She was setting off all those animal, primitive hungers inside him, and he found himself wanting to drag her over that damn desk and bury his tongue down her throat, putting his scent and taste on her for every other male to recognize. Marking her as someone who belonged solely to him.

He choked down his lust with every ounce of willpower he possessed and struggled not to go hard. But it wasn't easy. She quite simply fascinated him. There was no other word for the strange feeling of euphoria pumping through his system, as if he'd done too many shots of Jose Cuervo on an empty stomach.

"Alright, I'll take you up on your offer. Just remember that you offered." The sound of her saying his name sent a warm curl of satisfaction through his body. She went to work scooping up an overturned paper clip holder while the corner of her mouth twitched with a smile, making him fight his own grin as her eyes lifted to his mouth. He was enjoying the look in her eyes way more then he should. That flash of fire—of need—of keen, blazing desire in her eyes, the way her pulse hammered in the base of her throat, her eyes round and wild, skin warm with heat. He wanted to run his tongue over that sensitive female flesh and watch it burn brighter beneath his hungry exploration. Wanted to sip from her until her taste replaced that of every other woman he'd ever known. Wanted to consume the sweet promises of her body and her heart.

"I chose the Crusades. I'm just having a hard time finding the information." She sucked the plump pad of her lower lip through her teeth, and this time Caleb actually felt his cock pulse in response to the action, his damn eyes nearly crossing as something hot and hungry seemed to uncurl inside him, stretching its claws, the knot of his tightly leashed control unraveling more with every second that passed by.

Clearing his throat, he prayed she wouldn't notice the growing bulge behind his fly before he got his traitorous body part under control. He was going to end up with an imprint of his zipper at this point.

He rubbed one hand across the tense muscles at the back of his neck, and said, " Try a religion textbook. Our history text book only has a small blurb in it."

When she flashed him a soft, sweet, thankful smile Caleb Danvers was goner.

* * *

**_You are so in trouble, Hannah. _**

That was her only thought from the minute Dr. Van assigned Pogue to be her partner for the semester long candid portraits art project. She shouted and threatened and seethed the entire time, but it didn't make any difference.

"_Put your feeling into your heart Poltzer." Dr. Van chided her. _And Hannah couldn't help but choke back a sound of outrage. She had the uncomfortable feeling her world had just been shifted off its axis. There was an emotional meltdown going on inside of her, rioting and out of control.

She didn't want to spend any more time with him then was necessary. Resisting her body's instinctual impulse to get as close as possible to him was hard enough—she didn't want to test her willpower by finding herself sprawled over him…or under him. A telling shiver slipped through her system, and it wasn't from the cold. She hated herself for the fact that she'd rather running her palms over his hard, sleek abs, instead of pounding them with her fists.

If she could just keep fighting with him, she wouldn't have time to pay attention to those other thoughts swimming through her head. Naughty, provocative thoughts complete with writhing bodies, keening cries and warm, sweat-slick skin. Thoughts too dangerous for her peace of mind on the best of days, but when she was alone with Pogue in an empty art room then they were damn near lethal.

"You are going to hurt my feelings, pretty, if you keep refusing to talk to me." Pogue sighed flashing her that dimpled grin. She went right on ignoring him as if he wasn't there. That was the only way she was going to make it through this semester. It happened before she could even comprehend what was going on. In a flash of movement, Pogue had her arms secured behind her, holding her immobile as he pressed his hard body into the lush softness of her own, keeping her trapped there against him. Lowering his head, he whispered his words into the delicate shell of her ear. "Stop fighting it, Hannah. I don't like it any more than you do, but it seems that this little war is over."

Despite this intimate closeness, Hannah tried to regain her sanity. She was pathetic. She was practically tripping over her feet at the mere sight of him.

"This can't happen." She dropped her hands from his shoulder and placed one arm around her abdomen as if to protect herself. She feared the things he could to her. Things he could make her feel make her crave. The way he shattered her into pieces and left her broken. And. he could do it all over again, if she didn't stop this now. However, she was always her own worst enemy – because everything deep inside her, all those secret places, were burning and churning with desire. They all burned for him, eager and willing to sacrifice the sense and rightness of protecting herself from the heartbreak he would ultimately give her.

She wanted to spread her thighs, and beg to take him inside her again, make him part of her, whether he destroyed her or not. Just to have him close.

What the hell was wrong with her?

He flashed that devastating smile at her again. Her eyes closed and she swallowed back guilt and regret. "Why do you have to be so damn provoking?"

He laughed softly under his breath , the sound rigid and strained , like his body as it pressed against hers. She felt his heat shift even closer, and she opened her eyes and took a shaky step back, needing to put whatever distance between them she could. Fingers traced across her lips. "Stop doing that." He pushed himself toward her again with a determined glint in his eyes. His touch left her sizzling. This was crazy! She should be running as far away as possible.

She took a deep breath, and took one small step back, then another for good measure. No denying it, her body responded to this man, overriding the rational objections of her brain. Too clearly she remembered what it had felt like to be in his arms, and some traitorous part of her body wanted to be there again.

"Hannah," he said, pulling her back to him and stepping even closer, until she could feel the psychical heat off his body, the warmth of his breathe, salty and sweet like his taste. So close, she could see the dark shadow of stubble on his chin, the sexy crinkles at the corner of his russet eyes.

"It's called self-preservation Parry. I barely survived you the first time." The look in his eyes went darker, his lids lowered, heavy as he held her stare, daring her to look away. "I'm going to make it up to you."

She was tempted for half a minute before she came to her senses. "No. I won't do this," she whispered, reaching up to press against his chest.

"Do what?" He demanded, covering her ands with his own, the touch of his palms rough, warm. He flattened her hands against his chest , until she could feel the heavy , thundering in his chest. "What won't you do? Sex or work together?

He gave a low sinful laugh. "Now is the time to be specific Poltzer."

"This.. us.. "She panted, trembling. " It isn't going to happen."

One of his hands settled at her waist, the other curling around the back of her neck, supporting her head as she stared up at him. His lips parted slightly, eyes glowing with hunger, the intense need carved into his hard expression making her breathless.

When he spoke the velvet –rough timbre of his voice was mesmerizing, deliciously seductive. " I beg to differ."

"I've dreamed about you so many nights. Imagined having you under me. More times than I can count." The evocative voice deep, rich, and rumbling making her feel like jelly, liquid and soft.

A chocked sound vibrated in her throat, her eyes damp and hot. "Please Pogue don't do this to me. You choose Kate"

He lifted his hand from her waist, running the back of his knuckles across along the curve of her neck again, stroking her skin with a tender, reverent touch that made her chest hurt, her heart pound. "I've seen it happen so many times in my dreams. Watched you fall apart in my arms. Your eyes go hazy, your smooth as silk checks flush with color. Heard your breath catch in the back of your throat. Felt you spill over my hand, around my fingers, while your screams filled my head. Felt your body take me in, squeezing me, so right and hot and sweet I thought I'd go out of my mind."

She drew an unsteady breath. " It isn't going to happen."

A sexy, irresistible smile played at his lips. "Yes, it will. As many times as I want it to. However many ways you can take it. I want them all, Poltzer. Every goddamn one of them."

"Are you deaf?" She said shakily "or just too stubborn?

He leaned in close, and his lips touched her ear as he said. "I'm a realist, honey. It will happen. Because it's what we both want- what we both need. And when I'm buried deep inside you – heavy, hot and thick, you're going to break so hard that you'll scream. So hard that I'll be able to taste your cries in my mouth. You can believe that, Poltzer, even if you won't believe anything else."

He stared down at her, his expression hard, rigid with lust. She tried not to look at him, tried to think about the deliciously wicked things he'd just said to her and how badly she wanted them.

"I let what belonged to me slip through my fingers then," he watching her stiffen, watching her eyes dilate and darken. "You were mine, Hannah Look at you. You still want me, just as damned badly as I want you. And this time I won't let you slip away from me."

His soft breath felt warm and sweet and wonderful against her trembling mouth, teasing her with the heady, erotic promise of a kiss that Jillian knew she shouldn't want—but did. Badly. And the slow, crooked grin kicking up the corner of his mouth said he knew it, knew just how sharply the keen edge of anticipation was cutting into her.

"So I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that."

"Do better than what? What are you talking about?" she asked thickly. She was stalling, because she knew very well where he was going with his seduction routine.

"You're gonna have to convince me, little witch." Pogue laughed softly, kissing the corner of one eye, trailing the rough-silk texture of his lips across her cheek, before nipping playfully at her tender lobe.

"C-convince you of wh-what?" she stammered. "That you're crazy?"

"Feels like it. Feels like I've been crazy since the day I set eyes on you." He shifted a fraction closer, overwhelming her with his heat, his scent—with the intense, rugged masculinity that was so much a part of him. "You're going to have to convince me of the one thing that we both know you don't have a damn chance in hell of doing."

She breathed in too sharply, trapped by the possessive power of his gaze.

"You're going to have to convince me that you don't crave me the same way that I crave you—and you're going to have to make it good, Hannah, because I can promise that I won't make it easy on you."

* * *

**He was wild and untamed.** She could see that in his devil-may-care smile and in the brilliance of his dark amber eyes. He was an adrenaline junkie, not the stay-at-home type, or the happily-ever-after kind. He could, and if she let him, he would break her heart.

She glanced over at him, aware that he was watching her closely, his gaze hooded, his body tense.

"Stop that."

Jezebel's gaze flew up to meet his. "Stop what?"

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you want to eat me alive." The smile flamed in his eyes, riveting her gaze to him.

"I…I…" _Speak, you idiot_. "I did no such thing. And if I did, I didn't mean to."

He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't mean to what? Look at me like that?"

She nodded, suddenly mute and feeling stupid for thinking this way about him. She was supposed to remind herself that he was an arrogant bastard, not potential dessert.

"You can't help the way you look at me, any more than I can help the way I look at you." He stepped toward her and she began to sweat. He took the notebook out of her hands and threw it on the desk, then took her hands in his.

"There's a flash of heat between us. I feel it. I know you do too."

There shouldn't be, but he was right. She felt it too. A spark, like lightning, tingeing the air with electricity. This wasn't happening. The mere touch of his hands flamed her body and it reacted like it enjoyed the burn

"Do you feel it?" His voice was no more than a whispered caress over her cheek.

"Yes."

"Did you know your eyes turn indigo when you look at me?" She shook her head. He pulled her toward him,

"This is dangerous," he said, his voice thick and heavy with sensual promise.

"Dangerous?"

He nodded and trailed his fingers along her cheek. She leaned into his hand, welcoming his touch. "Very dangerous. Like your eyes, pulling me in. Hypnotizing me. I shouldn't want…"

As his words trailed off, she closed her eyes, captured by his voice. It resonated through her, shaking her resolve, eradicating her fear. She inhaled a shaky breath, but knew all hope was lost if he kissed her.

"What is it you don't want?" she asked, captured by his touch. He slid his fingers over her lips—slow, soft, and agonizingly gentle.

"This." The first touch of his lips against hers was lightning, searing her with a shock of instant desire. He pressed his mouth firmly against hers and she exploded. She burned, roasting alive in the exquisite fire of his kiss. He tasted of passion and she wanted to drink him in. He reached for her, threading his fingers through her hair and pulling her ever closer to his scorching heat.

His body was hard, his erection rocking insistently against the juncture of her thighs. Instinctively she moved against him and he groaned into her mouth.

"And this," he said as he pulled his mouth away from hers and pressed fevered kisses to the side of her neck. She shivered, barely able to keep her knees from buckling. His hands on the bare flesh of her arms and shoulders heated her blood to boiling.

She shouldn't want this. It was wrong, risky, made her feel out of control in ways she'd never felt before. But she didn't want it to stop.

"I don't want to want you, Jezebel, but I do." He dragged his lips from hers, his eyes smoldering with a barely contained fire.

The abrupt change in his demeanor confused her. First, he was hot and passionate, then he backed away as if she'd burned him. Her lips still trembled from his kiss, her body quaking with the need for completion. How could he just stop? He might as well have slapped her, the shock to her system so painful it roared through her like an aching flu. First he told her he wanted her, now he didn't want her, yet he'd kissed her with the longing of a man who'd lived alone on a deserted island for the past ten years.

She wiped her lips with the back of her hand, trying to send as painful a message to him as the one she'd just received. "I have an easy solution for you, Reid," she said as she quickly covered the hurt with the control she'd mastered over the years. "Don't touch me like that again, don't kiss me and you'll get over it soon enough."

"That simple, is it?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest, closing her off. He'd withdrawn completely from her, the open warmth in his eyes now safely shielded by a steel curtain.

"Yes, it's that simple." She'd effectively masked her attraction to him before, when he didn't even know she existed. Detached, unreal, perfect in her fantasies, which is exactly where she was going to put Reid Garwin. Back where he belonged. "It's easy enough for me to do, surely you can do it too."

"Fine," he said, his voice laced with resignation. "That's just fine." Without another glance in her direction, he walked to the back of the science lab. The incoming students saved her from doing some stupid, like turning around and demanding to know what in halls name was wrong with him.

Jezebel sighed, trying desperately to get her shaky emotions under control. He'd started this, with that kiss and those fiery looks. And now he thought he could control the situation by shutting off his emotions. Well, two could play that game, and in the game of control and burying her emotions deep, Jezebel was the master.

* * *

"**Thank you for helping me. I would have gone out of mind if you didn't help me." **Kelly said as she walked through the door Caleb was holding for her as she stepped out onto the stairway, one hand at the small of her back.

The heat of his palm against her lower back was delicious, and Kelly almost moaned with regret when he pulled it away after she cleared the doorway.

Caleb shot her a grinning look. "You would have been fine."

How it had happened, she wasn't sure. One minute she'd been staring at him, memorized by his grin and the next thing she knew the stair slipped out from underneath her. Kelly shrieked, twisting as she tried to grad the rail. For the span of a second, her lungs froze in shock, then sensation slowly began creeping back into her system and she realized two things at once. That Caleb somehow ended up in front of her, and was plastered against his yummy body.

How in the hell did that happen? Wasn't he behind her? She could have sworn… But all logically thoughts were lost when she took a deep, Caleb-filled breath, taking that intoxicating scent of male heat into her body, and slowly raised her eyes to his. The playful glint in his thick-lashed gaze instantly flared into a harsh, feral look of sexual promise, every long, muscled inch of his powerful body going utterly still at the accidental contact, and neither of them moved to pull away.

He stared down at her, those molten gold eyes smoldering and mysterious, as if lit from within with a burning, brilliant flame. His nostrils flared, black brows brought together in a fierce look of…intent? The beautiful shape of his mouth compressed into a hard, uncompromising line while his chest moved with the rough cadence of his slow breathing. Her mind screamed for her to move, but her body refused to obey the command. Instead, she stood there and watched as his lids lowered and a deep, husky sound of hunger vibrated up from the depths of his chest.

"Ah shit," Caleb growled in a ragged voice, suddenly catching her around the waist and pushing her against the wall.

He rubbed his wicked mouth against her tingling lips with one slow, teasing pass, followed immediately by another. Holy hell. Kelly gasped, reeling from the chaotic, breathtaking sweep of sensations, thinking she'd die from the pleasure, right there, pressed against the white and blue-tiled wall. She experienced an utter, complete, devastating sensual meltdown as the rough-silk texture of his lips rubbed over her mouth, his warm, enticing masculine flavor flooding her system. She made a sharp, hungry sound in the back of her throat, and went in for a deeper kiss, clasping the bronzed curve of his cheeks within the damp heat of her palms as she fitted her mouth against his, their lips and teeth smashing together. Riding the sharp edge of passion, she pressed her tongue into the dark heat of his mouth, and he growled into her, taking control of the kiss and thrusting his tongue past her lips to seek out the textures hidden within. He stroked over the smooth enamel of her teeth, the sensitive pad of her tongue, and Kelly could have sworn she heard herself whimper in frantic, sexual urgency.

They were both breathless, panting, forcing harsh, laboring breaths into each other as their mouths battled for dominance in a kiss that was quickly raging out of control. She pressed against him…hard…and was rewarded by the even harder feel of all those long, strong muscles and the hot, male intensity of his big body as he gripped her upper arms and lifted her against the wall. She hung suspended, one shoe sliding off a dangling foot, and then he slammed into her softness, pushing, trapping her against the tiled wall.

Kelly jolted from the sensory overload of stimulation, silent and still for the single beat of a second, before she heard herself make another needy sound, this one like a shivering purr. Something dark and dangerous-sounding rumbled up from him in response, vibrating against the swell of her breasts where they were mashed against that solid wall of his muscled chest, his hard, impossibly long, brutally thick erection digging into her fluttering stomach. He was so solid and hot, searing her front, and she breathed in huge, addictive lungfuls of his musky, scent, clutching at the powerful, roped muscles of his forearms as he gripped her tighter.

"Caleb," she moaned, her body feverish and full with a twisting, voluptuous need that seemed to take up all of her, fill her completely from the bottom to the top, until she was heavy and aching, needing the physical promise of pleasure only he could deliver. She knew, because no other man had ever come close to making her feel so much mind-shattering passion, and all he'd done was kiss her. She gasped for breath as he thrust his imposing jeans-covered cock into the giving softness of her belly and bit at her lower lip, the action utterly provocative and male—and then suddenly he stopped, not even breathing, and a terrible tension gripped the warm river of hope washing through her blood. She went cold, shivering, and carefully released his arms, dangling there in midair against the wall, her toes not even touching the floor.

"Don't…move," he gritted in her ear, forcing the words through his clenched teeth, deep voice dark and tortured, burying his face in her neck as he slowly, in careful degrees of movement, pulled his heavily aroused body back from hers, until at least an inch separated them. He breathed roughly against the sensitive skin beneath her ear, and she trembled, unable to stop the telltale action.

They were in a public place, and anyone could have looked into the little hallway and witnessed them going at one another with so much blatant hunger. But she didn't care, because all that mattered in that moment was that Caleb Danvers had kissed her like she was the last woman on Earth—like he wanted to consume her—and then he'd stopped, as if shocked by what he'd done.

"I'm…sorry," he finally muttered, lowering her to her feet and moving completely away, until he stood with his back against the opposite wall, his expression shuttered,mouth bruised and wet from her kisses.

"Don't worry about it," she croaked out of a dry throat, trying to ignore the sudden, tearing little rip of pain his words caused, even though she'd been expecting them.

"Christ," he said on a deep, ragged breath, still not meeting her eyes as his jaw worked with frustration and his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. "I never meant for that to happen."

"No, of course not," she said in a soft, faraway voice, wanting to laugh at herself almost as much as she wanted to cry. Damn her stupid, idiotic fantasies and traitorous sex drive.

She took a quick peek at his hard face, and wasn't sure who was more upset. Feeling the need to soothe, when all she really wanted to do was grab hold of him and never let go, she forced a grin and said, "Let's just forget about it and go meet everyone else okay?"

The bright smile she plastered on her face felt so brittle, she was amazed she didn't crack, and from the look on his face, she wasn't too sure he was buying it. Before he could open his mouth and crush her even more, she took off down the stairs, thankful when she heard him moving behind her.

_What had she just done?_

_

* * *

_

**A/n:  And that folks is the end of this chapter. The longest one to date. I'm sorry Tyler and Maria didn't have an appearance in this one. Caleb and Kelly just kinda of took over. The muse was feeling them. I just love the forbidden aspect of them. **

**Thanks for reading and hope you review! **

**Dee. **


	12. Don't Look Now:

_**Don't Look Now: **_

_**A/n: **__Thank you so much for all the reviews and all the love ya"ll show this story! I love posting a chapter and seeing my inbox flooded with all the love. Nothing better than that feeling! You guys are the best reviewers I have ever had! _

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**"_I never knew it'd be like this, such an unexpected twist_**

**_Started off with just a kiss, I don't know how to act._**

**_But I can't resist, how's just one kiss?_**

**_But don't look now_**

**_You've got me going, I'm going, I'm gone._**

**_Don't look now_**

_Y**ou've got me going, I'm going, I'm gone"**-_ **Don't Look Now. Far East Movement.**

**

* * *

**

**There she was.** His imp. His little demon sprite. The torment of his life. Pogue's eyes were rooted to her the moment he walked into Nicky's. Dressed like that, looking like she did, she was definitely going to command attention. She was a vision, with her tanned skin and blonde, flowing hair a contrast to the all black clothing she wore. She had a tight black leather miniskirt, black halter-top, and thigh-high black boots with a stiletto heel. A thin silver chain wound around her neck, the end dangling between her breasts and disappearing into the low vee of the halter. She wore her hair loose, the curls falling around her shoulders and back. She wore more makeup than she usually did, her lips glossed up in pink,

Making him want. He knew he couldn't stop staring, but he couldn't help it. Especially remembering the way she looked when he first met her. The difference was incredible. From plain and shy, to full-on confident, sexy bombshell.

She laughed and smiled as she danced with Maria. Hannah's laugh was still the same though. It was full-on throaty and loud, as if she enjoyed life. And her smile had struck the match and lit his fire.

Pogue loved watching her move. Hannah moved in a rhythm that said she was comfortable with who she was now.

And okay, he liked watching her hips move too, the easy way she swayed across the floor. He liked her ass and the sweet spot where her jeans met the skin of her lower back, that pretty tattoo there where he'd like to press his lips.

His jeans tightened as his cock twitched to life.

_Down, boy_. He took a long cold swig of his Coke to douse the heat.

"You keep this up and she's going to notice." Caleb said as he slid into the empty chair next to him. Pogue's ashamed to admit that it's the first time he even thought about Kate tonight.

Pogue shifted his attention to Caleb, just in time to see his brows knitted in concentration, the shadow that crossed over his face.

"Who are you reminding? Me or you?" Pogue bit out, frustration lacing his every word. "Think Sara's picked up on your little eye fest tonight?"

"Don't even, man. We're not going there." Caleb hissed

Pogue slid his glance over to Caleb and grinned a witty remark on the tip of his tongue. But just then the sounds of women squealing and men hollering, clapping and catcalling drove Pogue's attention to the front of the bar.

A new song came up, something sexy with a hard rocking beat, and Pogue wouldn't help but curse Sara for selecting it. He watched Hannah swiveling her hips to the music. Hannah was natural when she moved, like she felt the music inside her. She shimmied down to a squatting position, then back up again.

He'd like to feel her moving against him like that, wanted to feel her hips sway from side to side while he held her against his throbbing cock.

Though the music was deafening and the noise of the other men's clapping and shouting around them drowned out just about everything, Pogue was sure he could hear Caleb's hard swallow as Hannah pulled Kelly into the mix.

"Oh, shit," Caleb, whispered, his voice hoarse.

"We either did something really good or really bad to deserve this." Reid piped in as he moved to Pogue's left, his eyes never leaving Jezebel.

Pogue could only grunt in reply sucking in a breath as Hannah turned to him, tilted her chin and winked, a wicked smile on her face. She shook her head as if to say _"Not in this life time." _

Pogue grinned at her; he loved nothing more than a challenge, and with a smile and a wink Hannah just laid down the gauntlet.

* * *

**Caleb felt his jaw tighten at the sight of Kelly, her long, honey brown hair cascading down her back in thick curls.** The white silk dress she wore showed her curvy figure to advantage.

The minute she spotted him she high tailed it in the other direction. She had been avoiding him all night. The minute an opportunity presented itself for them to be alone she found anyway to get out of it.

_Idiot. Moron. Dumbass. _

Why did he have to kiss her? Where was his so called master control? Yeah, right. That was a laugh. Blowing out a frustrated breath, he pulled his hands through his hair, his body heated to boiling, his hard-on refusing to go away. The scent of tangerines that lingered on him wasn't helping any.

He ached so bad to touch her again he almost groaned out loud. The never-ending feeling of wanting so badly it was almost painful.

He followed her outside to the empty patio and found her sitting at table, her head in her hand and muttering to herself. When she heard him approaching her head shot up. She look startled for a second before she managed a tremulous smile, and nearly tore him apart.

"What are you thinking about?" he said as he crossed the patio and leaned against the doorway.

"Nothing." He heard the hurt in her simple reply. Damn. When he pushed off the wall and approached her, she leaned back in the chair as if she could slink under the table and avoid him altogether.

"Stand up, Kelly."

Her eyes were wide, luminous emerald green. She shook her head.

"Kelly, I—"

Her head jerked up. "Don't. Just don't."

He stared at her, the blank expression on her face, the utter lack of any spark.

"Stand up."

Again, that negative shake.

Exasperated, he grasped her hands and pulled her to her feet, forcing her to stand in front of him when she would have backed away.

"Look at me."

She did. Right at his chest. He tilted her chin until those green eyes met his.

"I'm sorry. I hurt you."

"Don't be silly. You didn't hurt me at all."

She didn't lie very well, despite her shrug of indifference. Pain shimmered near the surface of her eyes, the corners crinkling with barely suppressed anguish.

"Yeah, I did."

"Caleb, you didn't hurt me. It was nothing. I know it and you know it. There is no need to apologize or to agonize over it. Really it was nothing. I completely understand. —"

He interrupted her by pulling her into his arms and silencing her litany with a kiss. His head spun at the touch of her mouth. Her lips parted and she accepted his tongue eagerly, matching his frantic stroking with her own. God, she made him crazy. She really was damned irresistible.

He wrapped his arms around her tighter, lining their bodies up perfectly. Danger bells clanged loud and clear in his head as he looked up at her, as he reached for her, palming the nape of her neck to draw her closer to him.

_Don't do this. _Once was bad enough. To continue would be disaster, like drawing too close to the fire.

Her lips brushed light and easy across his, her breath warm and inviting. Her tongue rimmed his teeth as she explored, then slid inside, searching for his. Her skin was so soft as she leaned forward, draping herself over him to lean farther into the kiss. He roamed her body, memorizing every lush curve, determined to enjoy these moments while they

had them, because this was all going to end. This had to be the last time.

He was in deep shit.

But he _was_ going to let her go.

He had to.

He pulled back and watched as her eyes closed, the long curl of her lashes casting shadows against the creamy perfection of her cheeks. When she looked back up at him, there was no mistaking the thick wave of desire roiling through her emerald gaze. It nearly took him to his knees then and there, and he felt a flash of anger at everything—fate, her, himself—for the temptation he was forced to fight. It was a tight, aching throb of pain in his gut, making him sweat…making his jaw grind as he struggled not to takeher to the ground and slake that burning, raw ache of lust. He didn't trust himself, because he knew there'd be no controlling it.

And Caleb always had to be in control.

He felt like a man hanging by his nails, the crumbling ledge of a rocky mountainside his last lifeline…and any second now he was going to go crashing over the edge.

He took two deep, hard breaths, grasping for a hold on the slippery surface of his control, when she floored him by slowly licking the sexy curve of her upper lip with her pink little tongue in an act that screamed seduction.

Despite his mind screaming at him not to do, he kissed her once last time. Angry, demanding and harsh.

"It wasn't nothing." He all but snarled in a low, smoky rasp, when he pulled back. Wishing he could detest her for being so damn addictive and delicious.

For being everything that he'd ever wanted.

* * *

**She was so beautiful when she laughed.**

Just the scent of her made Tyler hard and hot. It was all he could do not to dip his head down to her shoulder and just inhale her scent until he was drunk with it. He focused his gaze on the bare, pale skin of her neck He licked his lips as he imagined what she would taste like. What it would feel like to have her pressed up against his body. To have her lips swollen from passion as she looked up at him while he took her.

Tyler never had thoughts that, but something about Maria made him feel wild and free.

She was so beautiful with large, blue eyes set in the pale face of a goddess. She was ethereal and lovely. The kind of woman men follow with their eyes. Pale, tall, in blue jeans and a midriff-baring top that revealed a flat belly and narrow waist, and showed off slim hips and long legs. Three silver earrings dotted each ear, and a piercing sparkled in her belly button.

She had her arms wrapped around his lean waist and had laid her head against his strong chest as they swayed to the music. He knew his heart was probably pounding heavily under her ear. He held her there with his hand still on her face while his thumb gently stroked her cheekbone. He leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head.

"Your quiet." Tyler observed, his brow furrowing.

"What do you expect? I'm with a guy I doubted even existed. You make me feel like I can fly, I'm not used to this, okay? And I'm not used to being with a guy who is so incredibly sexy that he makes me feel like the prize."

"I think you're beautiful, Maria."

"See!" she said, gesturing toward him. "There you go being perfect again. I think you need your head examined."

He knew he must have looked extremely offended by that when she reached out and brushed her fingers against his cheek. He turned his face into her arm and kissed the inside of her wrist.

"I'm just trying to figure out what you see in me is all," She admitted.

"I see a beautiful woman," he said earnestly, dipping down to nibble the sensitive skin below her ear. "Whose kind heart shines in her eyes and whose spirit is boundless." He pulled back so that he could stare down into her eyes.

"You really are too good to be true," she said, placing a kiss on his cheek. "It's hard to believe."

"I have to say this is a first for me, too." He reached out and let his fingers rub against the lock of hair lying against her cheek. "What can I say? You're irresistible to me," he breathed.

" There is nothing about you I would ever seek to change." Tyler added, blushing as the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them.

_Way to go Tyler. You are never going to live that down. _

"You keep talking like that, Tyler, and I might be forced to keep you."

"You keep looking at me like that, and I just might let you."

Tyler swore right and then and there that he would prove it to her. Prove that he meant every word he said. And, if he was lucky he would get to spend the rest of his life doing just that.

* * *

**"I can feel you looking at me. I've always been able to feel you looking at me." **By the sound of Pogue's voice, it wasn't an admission he particularly liked.

"It's called killing looks," Hannah informed him as she moved closer to the door. _Where in the world could Kelly have gotten to?_ "Most of the time I slap you upside the head with something."

He flashed her a grin. A charming, rakish grin that had the butterflies in her stomach doing cartwheels in arousal.

She spoke through gritted teeth. "I was not looking at you."

Teasing her was easier and way more fun than thinking about how hot she was. Less trouble that way, too. "You want me. Face it. I'm irresistible."

"You're full of yourself."

"Kiss me first."

She rolled her eyes. "How about I knee you in the groin instead?"

"Will you kiss it after?"

He saw the tug of a smile at the corners of her lips. "I'll bet you get a lot of women into bed with your charm."

"It works on occasion."

Her mouth opened and she ran her tongue over her bottom lip. Such a sweet invitation. He leaned in, knowing he shouldn't, grasped her chin with his thumb and forefinger, brushing his lips against hers for a simple taste. Then his mouth claimed hers again, angry and hot and hungry.

Sweet Jesus. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. But who cared? He made it so much more than a mere kiss. It felt too intimate, too carnal, like the decadent, provocative things he did to her in her dreams.

Hannah knew she should push him away, but more than that, she wanted to pull him closer. The details, so shocking and electric, overwhelmed her. The sexy, slightly rough texture of his lips. The silken stroke of his talented tongue. She could taste his hunger, his heat, and it was like going under…falling into him. Everything pulsed through her with a sharp, shattering awareness. And yet, she was lost, floating, her head fuzzy with the rioting sensations as his tongue claimed her mouth more deeply, the kiss slow and eating and deliciously sweet, like warm, melting honey.

She moaned, giving up, rubbing her tongue against his, and everything changed. With a low, hoarse curse, Pogue crushed her breasts with the muscular wall of his chest, while taking deeper possession of her mouth. It was something decadent, hungry and invasive, the way he penetrated her, shoving past any resistance, smashing it beneath his dark, persuasive need…Only, she wasn't resisting. Not anymore.

Hannah trembled, gasping. He growled low in his throat, moving against her, and she could feel the hard proof of his erection, long and thick enough to make her breath catch. Her hands lifted, the cool tips of her fingers touching in a butterfly caress against the scorching heat of his cheekbones, and she flinched from the warmth of his skin.

"Touch me," Pogue groaned against the corner of her mouth, nipping at her bottom lip, then diving back into the kiss with a breathtaking intensity that made her toes curl. "Put your goddamn hands on me, Hannah."

The shaken, guttural words slipped through her system like a dizzying rush of pleasure, all but making her purr. God, yes, she wanted to. Wanted to put her hands on the hard, lean lines of his magnificent body and learn him by touch, taking him in the way someone who'd lost their sight could lose themselves in another world through Braille. He was an unknown landscape she wanted to explore until she was privy to all its secrets, until it was so much a part of her she knew it better than she knew herself.

Hannah slipped her tongue past his lips, lost in the dark, honeyed sweetness of his taste, and took the aggressive sound he made into her mouth at the same time she pressed the flat of her palms against his ribs, fingers splayed, wanting to touch as much of him as possible. His body communicated its hunger through his skin, burning her, even with the barrier of his shirt between them. But she wanted flesh.

Wanted to feel the silken texture of his skin, the blond whirl of hair that circled his navel, then trailed in a daring arrow toward the blatant, rigid proof of his lust. Moaning deep in her throat, Hannah slipped her hands under the hem of his shirt and clasped his hot skin at his sides, just above the waistband of his jeans. His breath shuddered in his chest and he panted against her lips as he pulled away from the kiss, pressing his forehead against hers. The hunger and chaotic mix of emotion Hannah had always carried for this one man surged through her, filling her up, giving her the courage to do what she'd never done before.

Now, she didn't have a choice. Her body wouldn't let her fight what her heart knew was going to hurt her in the end. Biting her lower lip, she trailed her fingertips to the waistband of his jeans, then slowly stroked them inward. Any second now she was going to touch that intimate, powerful part of him. A fine sheen of sweat coated his skin, his flesh burning hotter. His lips pulled back over his teeth and he stopped breathing.

Her fingers pulled closer…closer…and then she heard her name being called out across the parking lot.

"Hannah? Are you out there?"

She wrenched her hands away and shoved against his chest. "Maria?" she tried to shout, breathless, wondering how she'd let herself get into this situation. She lifted her wide gaze and almost jumped from the searing look of lust darkening his eyes.

His jaw locked, and he finally reacted to her pushing hands, taking a step away, the front of her body left chilled at the loss of his incredible heat.

It terrified her, how badly she wanted to pull him back to her.

Taking her hands from the firm muscles of his chest, Hannah pressed them to her sides, and tried to find a measure of calm, even while her heart hammered out a vicious tempo beneath her ribs. "Maria?" she called out again. "Where are you?"

"Right here," She answered, the last word trailing off as the young woman stepped around a car and caught sight of them.

"Oops," she whispered, blushing, her blue eyes wide with surprise. The ends of her curly, blond hair just grazed her jaw, completing the fey look created by her unique features. Her nose was delicate, her chin sharp, jawline almost fragile. Her skin was as luminous as a pearl, the arc of her cheekbones always flushed with a wild color of rose because Maria could never move at a normal pace. She was boundless energy and exuberance, like a hummingbird always flitting from one spot to another. But she was wise beyond her years, her big eyes steady and calm within the thick fringe of her lashes. She was a wild spirit with a pure heart who never let others down.

Maria had never coddled her. That's why they were best friends. When she needed a good kick in the butt, she knew where to go. Maria had been there for her five years ago when her world had shattered and her mother died. She'd held her, comforted her, let her cry for days, weeks, months, had held her hand when she didn't think she'd ever be whole again. And when the time had come for her to pick up the pieces and go on, Maria had been the one to shove a boot in her ass and make her start living again. She owed Maria everything.

"Um, sorry," Maria murmured, her curious gaze moving from one to the other. Hannah tried to avoid blushing, but knew her face was crimson. "I was so focused on finding you, I didn't pick up on the fact that you aren't alone."

"It's okay," Hannah said firmly, stepping out from between the door and Pogue's body, needing the space to breathe. "Pogue and I were just—"

Maria's hands waved about wildly as she cut Hannah off. "Don't stop on my account. I was never here."

"No!" Hannah demand "Were done here. Right?"

Pogue's lip curled in cruel sneer, but she could see the burn of a darker emotion in the deep, smoky amber of his eyes.

"Yeah." He snorted, the rude sound making her teeth grind. "Whatever you say." He grunted under his breath and started to move away, then paused, his expression intent as he stepped closer and leaned down to whisper in her ear. Then without saying anything he pulled away, gave Maria a friendly nod of goodbye, and headed back into inside.

Maria walked quietly by Hannah's side as they wandered around the parking lot in search of Kelly. Hannah wanted to strangle her. It was all the new girls fault. If it weren't for her wandering off and out of the bar then that kiss never would have happened.

Half away across the parking lot the silence finally became unbearable.

"You want to say something?" Hannah huffed, too on edge to be reasonable. "If so, please just spit it out and get it over with."

Maria's slender shoulders lifted in a shrug. "Not really."

"Come on," Hannah groaned. "I can feel it, Maria After the night I've had, I don't have the energy to drag it out of you."

"I just…You're fighting it, aren't you?" Maria turned her head, staring at her with solemn eyes that saw too much . "You love him, Banana, but you don't want to. I think you want to give him another chance, but you're too afraid."

"It doesn't matter what I want. A future between us would be impossible, so it's best if we just stay away from each other." Though avoiding him was going to be hard to do, considering it looked as if they were going to be working together, but she kept that thought to herself.

"Nothing good can come of fighting it." Maria added.

"Things don't always turn out the way they're meant to."

Maria made a soft sound of frustration under her breath. "Maybe they would, if we were brave enough to fight for what we wanted."

Despite the headache pounding through her skull, Hannah grinned. "You sound like an idealist, Maria."

It took her a moment to realize that Maria was no longer keeping pace at her side. When she stopped and turned around, she found Maria's her slender frame vibrating with tension. Her usual easygoing smile had been replaced by a pinched look of temper that had Hannah blinking in surprise. Wondering what strange cosmic event had occurred in the universe tonight to throw her world into such chaos. She'd been on a steady, even keel for so long, allowing herself to feel so little—and now she felt battered by emotional waves, struggling to stay afloat in an endless, surging sea of commotion.

Maria' blue eyes luminous and bright in the silvery moonlight, flashing at her with ire. " You're afraid of following your heart. You've always been afraid."

She frowned, knowing it wasn't that simple. " Pogue isn't the type to make a sacrifice for others. He would never leave Kate. And you know what kind of reputation he has. Any woman foolish enough to trust him is just that. A fool."

And she had been.

She had learned something in Italy, something about herself. She had learned that she wanted more from Pogue's than his kisses, his touches. Once, she had thought that one kiss would be enough, if that were all she could have. It wouldn't be, though. He would rip her heart from her chest, leaving her lost and alone. As lost and alone as she had been when he told her he wanted Kate.

No, she wanted Pogue's heart. Of all the men in the world, Pogue was the one she would never stop wanting, the one she would never stop aching for. Her dreams were proof of that.

But Pogue Parry was a dead-end street, and Hannah needed more than brick walls to bang her head against.

It was time to go on without those girlhood dreams.

It was time to go on without her heart.

_Why couldn't Maria see that? _

Maria gave her a sad smile. "You don't believe in the power of love? In its strength?"

"You sound like a romantic," she muttered, feeling too old and worn-out, surrounded in heartbreak and bitterness.

"I am, Hannah. I've seen love. I've seen commitment and fidelity and a metaphysical union of the souls." Maria gave a little grin. "However you want to describe it, it does exist.

"Hannah, the one who protects her heart from fear of loss ends up with no heart at all. Just an empty chest, because she has nothing to lose. I love you too much to see that happen to you. Look inside yourself. Pogue may be bold and arrogant, but he's a good person. How could you know what he's willing to sacrifice for you, when you've never given him the chance? And you're already in pain from being near him and not having him. What could be worse?"

"What could be worse?" Hannah repeated, wiping angrily at the hot, stinging wash of tears she could feel gathering at the corners of her eyes. "How about loving him and discovering that he doesn't love me the same way?"

Maria shook her head sadly, while the wind caught at her pale curls and tousled them around her fey face. "I've always thought you were the bravest person I know," she said sadly, "but you sound like a coward, Hannah."

Her mouth twisted into a wry expression that felt more like a grimace than a smile. "You're probably right." She took a deep breath, then jerked her head toward the direction of the bar. "Let's go back inside. Maybe Kelly's already back in the bar."

"He wants you, Hannah. And he doesn't seem like the kind of guy to give up once he sets his mind on something."

"I know," she murmured, recalling his earlier words. And he'd reminded her of the fact he meant to have her with those last whispered words in her ear. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"No, it's not," Maria said softly. "What you're afraid of is that you won't be able to resist him forever."

Hannah closed her eyes as the truth of those words spread through her. By the time she opened them, she stood alone under the milky glow of the moon, the only sound that of the door closely softly behind her best friend.

* * *

**The Elders gathered around the 'church table.' Staring anxiously at a tall, narrow figure that stood in the middle of the room**. Roic, the leader of the Elders stammered on in his plea, despite the absolute silence of the figure he was trying to persuade.

"But the soulmate bond – that's really the last straw. It's a disease infecting our people. You understand why I have called upon you to stamp it out."

Roic glanced up into curious pale red eyes, irises circled with sleek black lines, that looked back down at him with, he instantly feared. His fang-framed smile was deeply alarming.

"Roic you disappoint me so. You've managed to fail at everything! And what's more... you foolishly thought you could take _my_ place while I was away. Well, as of now, you're finished. Useless imbecile..."

"I beg your forgiveness." Roic pleaded "On behalf both me and the rest of Elder's for our carelessness"

"Are you afraid Roic? What is it you fear? The end of your trivial existence? Now that a mere group of boys has surpassed you in power?"

The figure laughed without mirth. "The Covenant is but a footnote to my magnificence. I will turn them inside out and exterminate them."

"_My_ _revenge_ will seek them out, and with the blood of the sons, I will continue to live forever! They will restore me to life their ancestors once robbed from me!

He hunted through centuries for _at chance_ vengeance against those who had cast him out of the Covenant, shamed his name and erased him from his world. The Elder's were foolish and desperate enough to give him corporal form.

Nothing could stand in John Putman's way now.

* * *

**A/N: I told you the Elders would be back in a big way. :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I had tons of fun writing it! **

**Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you continue review and let me know your thoughts, feelings, and what you want to see happen between the couples. And which couples you want to see more of. I try do my best to give you guys what you want to read. **

**Thanks again!**

**Dee.**


	13. Authors Note and Next Chapter Preview:

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive. :) Lol It was final weeks and then I just took my LSAT's today. I was so busy studying that I didn't have time for anything else. Not even the fun stuff. However school doesn't start up again until January so I will have plenty of free time.

Currently the next chapter is 21 Microsoft word pages. I'm not quite finished with it at the moment but almost. So close. It should be up by late tomorrow night and it is called** Bad Moon Rising**. Here's a preview to say thank you for waiting and being so patient with me:

_** Bad Moon Rising Preview: **_

_That voice was back._

_Whispering to him again. The voice was dark and seductive. Reassuring yet demanding in its insistence._

_"Just let go Aaron. It will all be okay. You'll see. Your one f us."_

_Aaron Abbott was torn. Part of him wanted to stop what was happening. Yet part of him wanted to stop fighting the change. To just surrender to it._

_The harder he fought, fought to keep from changing. The harder it hurt. He knew force alone could not stop what was happening. That it was a losing battle._

_His father had always warned him of that._

_Nature would always win out in the end._

_He let out a scream as he gave in. Lost himself in the oblivion. Dark and silent and complete. He knew he had to change, he could feel the need in every muscle spasm and restless twitch, feel it the way his skin prickled and stretched with every pull of muscle, sinew and bone._

_His human form rebelled against the change convulsing so hard he doubled over into a wobbly crouch, the sound of his blood pounding in his ears made it almost impossible to hear anything else. His lungs blazed as he struggled to breathe. Each breath scorched through him, like swallowing fire. He let out another scream as he twisted and writhed on the cold floor._

_He looked up at the full moon and let out a loud whining howl._


	14. Bad Moon Rising

_A/N: Again, Thank so much for all the reviews. I feel so loved. I'm thrilled ya'll are still sticking with this story. Special thanks to F*uckmylife1989, Jay, PerfectDisaster22, HPGeek, and Niffer101 for your reviews. They were so awesome!_

_On a side note. In response to a PM I feel I need to clarify something. Chase and Arly are NOT SOULMATES! They share a bond, which I'm going to discuss soon but they are not soulmates. Chase is mated to someone else._

_This chapter is dedicated to HPGeek for being so awesome. I felt so honored by your PM.  
_

* * *

_"I see the bad moon arising._

_I see trouble on the way._

_Don't go around tonight,_

_Well, it's bound to take your life,_

_There's a bad moon on the rise_

_I hear the voice of rage and ruin."-** Bad Moon Rising (CRR)**_

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* * *

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**Rules. Caleb Danvers loved rules. **They are clear-cut and orderly. They tell you what to do and when to do it. And all you have to do is follow them. It's as simple and easy as that. At least it used to be. He thought he knew all the rules. Was logical enough to know better than to break the rules.

Logic was such a liar. He met Kelly and all logic abandoned him. And with one kiss he started down a little road of sin breaking every damn rule along the way.

He shouldn't have knocked on her door after Nicky's. He shouldn't have invited her to his room to talk. He knew better than to be alone with her. But he couldn't help himself.

Couldn't leave things like that, couldn't leave her hurt.

He was playing a dangerous game tonight and he knew it. But he needed a taste of her. Just enough to hold him over, to dampen the lust raging through him.

He reached out to touch her cheek, knowing, damn, he knew this was a mistake. The worst mistake he could possibly make right now. Because he couldn't follow through. He couldn't have her. It wasn't possible.

He hated this. Hated being this close to her because it took so much effort to control himself. Too much effort to remember all the reason's she was off limits. She messed his head up every damned chance she had, and he wasn't a man that liked having to question parts of himself that he had never questioned before.

Most of all, though, Caleb hated the uncomfortable feeling of longing she stirred within him, the kind that damn near made his heart stutter whenever she was near. Honest to God, he didn't know how much longer he could hold out against it.

Each and every time he laid eyes on her, his legendary control slipped

a little further. And after tonight, it was tenuous as hell, riddled with cracks.

"I should apologize. I won't but I should. That kiss was a reckless mistake, Kelly. It never should have happened. "

Kelly's eyes closed, her lush mouth curving in bitter amusement. Her heart was broken, but hey, at least she could still laugh at herself. "I told you it's fine. Let it go already Caleb. I don't want to have 'the talk'. Save your breath. I know how this goes. Come on, is it really so hard to get the let's not talk about it concept?"

He caught her arm as she moved fast for the door, pulling her around jerking her against his body, and making the biggest damned mistake of his life. Because he saw her tears. Because he saw the hurt in her eyes as she turned away.

And he just couldn't seem to help himself. Some imp of self-destruction was lodged in his brain and playing hell with his sense of self-preservation because the next thing he knew he was grabbing her by the waist, turning her and pushing her against the wall.

"This is a bad idea." He sighed, lowering his head and allowing his rougher cheek to brush against hers. "Tell me to leave."

"Leave," she breathed as she softened against him. One small hand clenched on his upper arm. The fingers of the other were pressing against his stomach. She could feel his abs flexing; he could feel the warmth of her through the material of his shirt.

His cock pressed imperatively against his jeans. The hard throb was making him crazy. It had made him crazy all evening. How much hell was one man supposed to endure before the hunger overrode control? What was it about this one woman that threatened his control?

He let his lips brush against the strands of hair at the side of her face. They were soft, fragrant. Like silk that smelled of tangerines. He wanted to crush them between his fingers, hold her in place, and eat her up with kiss after kiss. He wanted to taste those lush, sensual lips. He wanted to feel her tongue against his, hell, he wanted all of her.

"If you don't get out of here, I'm going to fuck you," Caleb bit out savagely. Wondering where the dark impulses raging through him were coming from?

"Think about it, Kelly. You don't know me. I'm a stranger to you. That's getting ready to tear your clothes from your body. Is that how you want it?"

Kelly frowned. "Well, it didn't top my list of things to do today. But I've always been good at improvising."

She could think of no reason not to let him have his way with her. She didn't

understand his problem and her body was in such a riot that she really didn't care. Kelly was burning alive for his touch and if she didn't get more she was going to explode. It was as simple as that.

"This cannot be normal." His voice whispered but He didn't give himself a chance to think about. Every impulsive inside of him was screaming for her. He didn't want to think, and he should have. He should have considered the consequences, and he damned sure should have considered the spark that blazed between them even when they weren't touching.

He should have considered it, because each time he did, he knew better than to draw closer to the fire. He knew better than to let his hunger get the best of him.

But he didn't consider.

He brushed his lips over hers as they parted. Light as a whisper, he let himself feel her lips. He came back for a taste. The barest taste of that full lower lip, and it was ambrosia. Nectar. It was the sweetest taste of flesh that he swore he had ever known

He lifted her closer, notching the hard width of his cock against her as he turned and pressed her into the wall, his lips parting, his tongue pressing between hers, his need controlling every objection his head was listing as he allowed himself to sink into her kiss.

Her arms were around his neck. Her legs lifted until her knees rode his hips, and hell, he was lost. He was barely aware of the fact that he was jerking her shorts over her hips.

He was doomed. He was going to hell. He was going to be flayed by the whips of guilt and remorse the second he managed to pull his lips from hers. So why the hell should he bother now? He could keep kissing her, kissing her until the guilt and remorse were burned away to cinders beneath the hunger that blazed out of control.

Kelly tasted wild, tasted as free as the wind.

She was the promise of an eternal flame; the illusion of something he knew didn't exist. The illusion of true emotion. Because in this kiss there was more than pleasure. There was the darkness he held within him rising to the fore, and the fantasies he knew he had no business considering tempting his mind.

He couldn't get enough. He couldn't taste enough of her, couldn't kiss her deep enough, wild enough.

They were both damned. A hunger that surged to his hardened cock, and had him pulling her thighs apart with his free hand to get closer to her.

The taste of her was liquid hot as she arched against him, a surprised breath of sound barely escaping.

Keeping her head tilted back, he devoured her lips, her tongue. He slid his hand up her thigh, touched the wet slit of her panties, and groaned at what he found there.

"This isn't normal, Kelly. This need should not be here. You're like an addiction." Caleb nipped at her lips as he released her neck.

"We'll find you a twelve-step program." She arched against him.

"Twelve steps to complete insanity?" he asked as his lips traveled along her jaw.

Heat blazed along his nerve endings, dominance and overwhelming sexual starvation erupted through his mind. He was lost, he was lost in her and he knew it.

Nothing mattered but more. Kissing her deeper, stronger. Fueling the desire inside her to the depth that his had been fueled. Wiping her mind of everything, anything, but his touch, his taste.

Caleb knew he had never kissed another woman like he was kissing her now. It wasn't just hunger, it was dominance. Claiming, when he had never claimed before.

He controlled the kiss. He held her face in place, fingers on the pressure points of her jaw, keeping her mouth open to him, controlling her ability to wrest that dominance from him. And she was trying. She tempted and she teased, licked at his tongue and tried to suckle it. She moaned when he refused to allow her the upper hand. Her body arched, her nails dug into his scalp, and her hips arched to cushion the hard-on raging beneath his jeans.

Just this kiss, is what he told himself. That if he could just have a kiss, he would be satisfied. But the kiss only pushed him closer to the brink, closer to insanity.

"You're dangerous." He pulled back, nipped at her lips warningly as she tried to follow his kiss.

"I'm lost." She sighed, fingers trailing to his neck, her nails prickling over his flesh. "Kiss me again, Caleb before you tell me this was all a mistake. Kiss me again Caleb please! One more time."

Her lashes lifted, showing the brilliance of those emerald green eyes. Her lips were swollen, her cheeks flushed as her breasts rose and fell roughly.

"Take the shirt off." He released her and stepped back enough to allow her to move. "Let me see you."

She shivered, her eyes shadowed with wariness and excitement as she pulled the material free and eased it up and over her head.

Caleb felt his jaw tighten "Good," he crooned as her hair fell around her shoulders and down her back.

"Now take the bra off."

"Take your shirt off first," she whispered. "If you want, Caleb, you have to give."

He bunched his fingers in her hair, lowered his head, and took her lips again. He took her with the kiss. Claimed her. His lips slanted over hers, his tongue working in her mouth until she was moaning and straining closer, her wicked little fingers at the buttons of his shirt, struggling to release them.

She was fire in his arms and he knew it. Hehe felt buttons pop as the material of his shirt parted, revealing his chest.

He pulled his head back, ignored her need for more, and stared down at her. "The bra," he demanded.

Her hands were trembling, her fingers clumsy as she worked the clasp between her breasts loose and shed the bra.

"Your beautiful. " One hand moved from her hair to cup a hard, swollen mound and caress it. Keeping his gaze locked with hers, his lips parted, his head lowered. He watched her face, insane lust rising inside him as his lips closed over a tight, hard peak.

He licked at the flesh, felt her shiver. His teeth raked over it, and he needed more. The taste of her was incredible. The sound of her breath catching, the feel of her melting in his arms was addictive.

God, he needed her. The need was like a fever devouring his insides. A with that need came the loss of the ability to deny her, to stop this, to deny the hunger pulsing through him, tempting him.

It was shot to damned hell, the edges frayed and broken.

All because he ached for her. Ached clear to his soul for something he didn't even know how to name.

* * *

**Kelly tilted her head back as Caleb's lips continued their campaign of complete sensory rapture.** Shudders of pleasure raced through her body at each lick of his tongue, each nip of his lips.

With a hungry growl he took her kiss. His lips slanted over hers, his tongue whispering past them, licking at them, driving her crazy with the need to touch.

The next instant the world was tilted. She found herself stretched above him on his desk. One hand dragging one of her thighs over his as the other tangled in her hair and held her to him.

Oh God. She was straddling him on his desk. She could feel his cock between her thighs, rubbing against her as his lips and tongue destroyed her mind.

Her hands were buried in his hair, holding him to her, trying to devour him as pleasure became a force she couldn't fight.

Lips that eased back and forced her to follow. That slanted over hers and dragged a hungry cry from her throat. Lips she couldn't stand the thought of never kissing again.

His kiss was a firestorm, burning away objections and suspicions and leaving her adrift within the most pleasure she could have ever imagined.

She had never known pleasure this good. This hot.

"Don't stop. Please, .." Oh hell, she was going to beg.

His lips dipped from hers, his tongue trailing over her jaw, before his cheek scraped against her neck. Kelly couldn't stop the shudder of reaction as pleasure swamped her.

It was so good. So good, she moved her head, turning her neck into his cheek to feel it closer, rougher.

"Like that?" he whispered as his fingers callused and hot on drifted across her back as his teeth suddenly scraped over her neck.

Like it? No, she didn't like it. It was destroying her, stealing her strength and her common sense and leaving her weak beneath his touch.

"Yes," she panted.

"Like this?" He stretched beneath her then, his hips rolling and lifting, grinding the hard ridge of his cock deeper between her thighs as fireworks ricocheted in her mind and exquisite sensation sent her reeling.

It was like being consumed by hunger, by the eroticism of the feel of him against her. The heat, the lightening stroke of rapture. God, she needed more. So much more that she arched closer to him and all but begged for it as the heat continued to build in her.

The feel of his calloused palm cupping her breast was enough to steal her breath. The stroke of his thumb over her distended nipple sent pulses of lightning-sharp sensation to attack her. She was sinking in sensual overload.

In the hunger that wrapped around her and sank into her flesh. Nothing mattered but his touch, his kiss. If he thought he was addicted, it was nothing compared to her need for him. She felt as though she were drowning in the pleasure, drowning in the complete abandonment of her body to his.

He pulled back, stared up at her, his gaze hard, brilliant, the color of raw gold as he watched her with predatory awareness "Not here."

She gasped as he gently shoved her back only to swing her up in his arms and stride to the bed. Within seconds she was bouncing on the bed, pushing at her hair as it fell over her eyes and feeling his hands at her hips, dragging her down toward the end of the bed.

Sensation jerked along her nerve endings as his fingertips brushed between her thighs, then over the dampness of her panties. She was about to explode with need.

His fingers pressed against her, rubbing the silk of her panties against her clit as she lifted her hips to him.

"That's so good," she whispered breathlessly.

"It can get better," he promised.

She shuddered at the thought of it getting any better. It was too much. Too much sensation. Too much need.

His fingers hooked in the elastic band of her panties. She didn't have to worry about him pulling them off her legs. The elastic snapped and his fingers brushed the material aside

At the rending of the material Kelly swore she lost her mind. Sensation surged and exploded inside her as her hips jerked up and a shattered moan fell from her lips.

She was so turned on she wondered how she could breathe. Pleasure lashed through her system as desperation began to take over. Her arms lifted, her hands moved to his head, her fingers curling into the long strands of hair as she tried to push him lower, between her thighs.

She'd dreamed of this, fantasized about it, ached to know what it would feel like.

Her eyes opened as she watched, watched as he kissed his way to the flushed mound, then breathed a heated breath over the sensitive flesh. Her thighs fell apart at the urging of his broad hands. Breath suspended in her lungs as she watched his tongue lick, slowly, so slowly around her hard, distended clit. His eyes were on her, watching her as she watched him lick. Watching her as her lashes drifted closed and ecstasy took over.

A second later a light sucking kiss had her crying out. Then his tongue became ravenous. Hard hands slid beneath her rear to lift her closer as he licked through the wet slit, circled the opening, then plunged inside in one hard, hungry stroke.

She felt the explosion detonate inside her. She wanted to scream. She tried to scream. All that emerged were breathless whimpers and desperate moans as that last shattering wave of pleasure tore through her.

It was exquisite. It was the most pleasure Kelly had ever known in her life, and she was desperate for more. She wanted to hold him to her, desperate to feel every sensation, every chaotic emotion raging through her.

She had waited so long, had dreamed for so long.

He rose to his feet, his hands going to the belt that cinched his hips. He unbuckled it quickly, confidently. The snap and zipper on his jeans came next. Then he was shedding them along with the snug boxer briefs he wore. The material slid over his powerful thighs and released the heavy length of his cock to her avid gaze.

She was reaching for him when his hands landed on her shoulders. One knee braced on the bed, he pushed her back, loomed over her, his head lowering, his lips taking hers. He took the kiss he wanted. His lips captured hers, held them imprisoned as his tongue slid between them and conquered hers. The kiss was hard, erotic, so sensual that the pleasure of it slammed into her senses, igniting the lust already flaming out of control.

The rasp of his chest hairs against her nipples had her arching close, crying out. Pleasure shouldn't be this extreme. It shouldn't be filled with such wonder and such desperation.

One knee slid between her thighs, pressed high and firm until she was rocking her clit against the heavy muscle of his thigh. And it was so good. It was blazing. Hot. It was so much pleasure, so many sensations that she wondered if she would survive the inferno.

A cry fell from her lips and her eyes fluttered closed as his teeth raked over a nipple, then his lips closed over it. He didn't stop there, he lingered long enough to have her arching, writhing beneath his touch before he went to her other breast, tortured it with pleasure, and stoked the arousal burning inside her higher.

Opening her eyes she stared back at Caleb as he rose between her thighs, his fingers rolling the condom over the stiff length of his cock.

"Lift to me." Still sitting on his knees, his hand gripped her hip, pulling her up his thighs until her legs draped at his hips and the heavy width of his cock head pressed against her.

"Oh God," she breathed out, feeling the heat and hardness through the latex as the hard crown pressed against her, into her.

Seeing Caleb, muscles tight and bulging, his hands holding her hips as he pressed against her, stole her breath, her senses.

He watched her as though nothing mattered but her—taking her, touching her. The feel of his erection stretching her, pressing deeper fed the wild need burning inside her. She bucked closer. Needing more.

She didn't want slow and easy. She wanted to go wild beneath him, yet he restrained her, held her, watched her, and eased in by only the barest inch before pulling back.

"What are you waiting for?" Bucking against him, she fought against the hold he had on her wrists and glared back at him. He was trying to kill her. He had to be. He was torturing her past bearing.

But he was just as tortured. Sweat rolled in a thin, damp line down the side of his neck as he stilled, staring down at her, his golden eyes fierce and intent. Desperation hovered in his expression, in the tight lines of his face as hunger glittered in his eyes.

"I need you," she whispered the plea, begging for more. If he stopped now, could she bear it?

"Tell me you're mine," he demanded, his voice dark and low. "Say it, Kelly Admit it. You're mine."

"Say it, Kelly." He pressed deeper, stretched untried tissue, heated it with his strength and hardness. "Tell me. Mine." The words were a snarl, a growl of ownership as his cock dug in deeper, parted her and sent a hard, fierce jolt of electric pleasure racing through her.

Hard, calloused hands held her hips still as he moved against her. Slowly. His cock slipped back, then returned. Slow, easy, shallow thrusts that had adrenaline pumping through her system and hungry flames burning around her.

"Not enough," she cried out, her hands clenched around his arms. "Not enough, Caleb. Please."

Tears filled her eyes as perspiration dampened her body. She fought against his hold, twisting, surging against him, needing. Oh God, she needed. So bad.

He pulled back again, ignoring her tight, smothered scream. Pausing at the entrance stilled for a moment, letting her work herself on the crest. Her juices coated the condom-covered flesh as she stared down at where they met.

She pushed closer, gasped, cried out as he buried deeper, then deeper yet as his hips surged forward, his cock tearing past that last veil of innocence.

Kelly stilled. Her eyes flashed to his face from where he was buried inside her. Burning heat and liquid pleasure seemed to enfold her. She felt as though she was drowning in the contradictory sensations as she stared into the hard, savagely honed features of his face.

"I told you," he grimaced. "Mine. just try and deny it."

"Yours." He could have this. This was exquisite. It was desperate. It was real. This need, this burning hunger, every part of it. This she understood.

He pulled back, and buried fully inside her in one hard, long stroke. He buried into her entire being. Kelly felt a flash stroke of emotion that made no sense as he moved over her. He let go of the grip on her wrists and she was touching him, holding him. Locking her arms around his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his hips, her head tilted back and a low, drawn-out cry left her lips. He was moving hard and fast inside her now.

His fingers tangled in her hair, turned her head, and his lips were on the column of her neck. Hard, fierce kisses, the scrape of his teeth, a nip, and the quick, hard thrusts inside her were the catalyst. The explosion when it came destroyed her. She felt parts of herself dissolving, burning, turning to ash. She couldn't scream, she could barely breathe. Eyes wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling as a heated kiss was pressed to her neck, and she felt herself free-falling. She was lost to the sensations burning around her, through her. She was lost to Caleb

and she was very much afraid she just might truly belong to him in ways that might end up terrifying her later.

"Ah God!" A harsh exclamation left his lips, his thrusts became harder, ratcheting her release higher until she felt him shudder. Felt his kiss at her neck become more fierce, hotter. Marking her. He had marked her. .

Kelly tightened her hold on him, keeping him to her as she clenched through the final tremors of her release, and exhaustion began to claim her. She sighed

and snuggled closer, wiggling her butt against his crotch.

"Keep that up and we'll never get any sleep."

"Sleeping's overrated," she said with a loud yawn.

Within a few minutes, she was sound asleep. And he was really damned content having her in his arms. There were a million reasons why that was a bad thing, but he was too tired to think about them. All he cared about was having Kelly in his arms and needing at least a few hours sleep.

He could brood tomorrow.

* * *

**That voice was back.**

Whispering to him again. The voice was dark and seductive. Reassuring yet demanding in its insistence.

"_Just let go Aaron. It will all be okay. You'll see. Your one f us."_

Aaron Abbott was torn. Part of him wanted to stop what was happening. Yet part of him wanted to stop fighting the change. To just surrender to it.

The harder he fought, fought to keep from changing. The harder it hurt. He knew force alone could not stop what was happening. That it was a losing battle.

His father had always warned him of that.

Nature would always win out in the end.

He let out a scream as he gave in. Lost himself in the oblivion. Dark and silent and complete. He knew he had to change, he could feel the need in every muscle spasm and restless twitch, feel it the way his skin prickled and stretched with every pull of muscle, sinew and bone.

His human form rebelled against the change convulsing so hard he doubled over into a wobbly crouch, the sound of his blood pounding in his ears made it almost impossible to hear anything else. His lungs blazed as he struggled to breathe. Each breath scorched through him, like swallowing fire. He let out another scream as he twisted and writhed on the cold floor.

He looked up at the full moon and let out a loud whining howl.

* * *

**Evelyn Danvers froze the hairs on the nape of her neck prickled at the sound of wolves eerie, savage chorus.** A howling song that lusted for blood and death, Evelyn knew that song all too well. It was a melody that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

"It's really happening." Glenn Simms could barely get the words out. His body was visibly shaking.

"What's happening?" Rhyannon Perry demanded looking around the room in vigor.

"The Abbott curse has been triggered." Evelyn answered simply, numbing the fear with vodka.

"The what?" Kenyton Simms asked. There was so much she didn't know. So much about her own son that was a mystery.

"The Abbott curse dates back hundreds of years." Glenn started as he plopped down on the couch with a weary sigh. "It was just suppose to be a myth."

"There's a reason their existence has remained merely a myth. Werewolves are territorial, vicious, and pathologically secretive."

Despite her better judgment, Kenyton reached out and grabbed Glenn's hand , needing something familiar and safe. She pretended not to notice Evelyn looking away from their adjoined hands in agony or the way Glenn flashed her an apologetic look.

" For the better part of a six hundred years there has been a blood feud between witches and the lycans." Gorman continued.

"Why?" Kenyton was almost afraid to ask.

"Legend goes that six hundred years ago the Covenant was at it's peak in power. Even then the Elders were determined to be the leading power." Glenn answered.

"Correct." Gorman said with a tight nod. "The Elders were determined to remain the supreme power. And with the Covenant families being a prominent as they were they were bound to have many enemies."

"So, the Elder's exploited that." Glenn said once again taking over. "They picked the Abbott's to be their tools. The Abbott's hatred of the Covenant was deep-seated. They were a poor farmers family who had lost their children to famine because they couldn't afford to pay the Covenant families enough for protection.

"That's horrible." Kenyton said in disgust.

"It's was different times then my dear," Gorman said kindly. " Survival of the fittest was very much at play."

Glenn cleared his throat and carried on determined to get past the Covenants darker history. "The Elders didn't have to work very hard to seduce the Abbott's. They promised retribution for their children in exchange for their loyalty to them."

Once again Gorman took over. "They gifted the Abbott family with the supernatural strength and the ability to shape shift."

"Only the Elder's plan back fired on them." Glenn said with a sad shake of his head "They didn't count on the primal instincts that the Abbott's developed. More specifically their blood lust."

"The Abbott's become uncontrollable. They ravaged the country side and and turned more people into shape shifters." Gorman poked the fire with his stick. "The Covenant was forced to intervene and cursed the Abbott's. Forcing them to be slaves to the full moon."

Keeping with the rhythm Glenn took over once again. "The Abbott's using the power given to them by the Elder's in turn cursed the Covenant. It used their one strength against them and bound the Covenant's power to the hands of time."

"It was the Abbott's who cursed the Covenant's power into being the death of them. They never wanted the Covenant to ever be a monopoly ever again." Gorman added.

"The Elder's couldn't leave it like that. Thye feared both the lycan and the Covenant's power. They wanted to make sure the shape-shifters and the Covenant was left totally powerless. So only they could reign over the land."

Again it was Glenn's turn to pick up where Gorman left off. "The Elder's doomed both the lycan pack and the Covenant to spending their lives searching for the other half to complete them. And that's how the soulmate principle came into play.

"And how did the Abbott curse get triggered now?" Evelyn asked

With a sad look Gorman answered "When the leader of the Covenant is biologically compelled to mate with his soulmate. The Covenant then gains it's Alpha. That triggers the curse of the lycan pack and it too gains it's Alpha."

And it was their that Glenn Simms understood what Gorman was getting at. " With the Alpha's in place the war between the Lycan's and the Covenant starts up again."

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_A/N: And that is the end of this chapter. It was thirty one pages**. The next chapter is called Cannibal and it comes out tomorrow nig****h****t** as well. I'm almost done. Next chapter is Reid and Jezebel and also Hannah and Pogue's time to shine. And more talk about the Covenant and Lycan curse. _

I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading and hope you leave me some feedback.

Dee 3


	15. Cannibal

**A/n: I'm so so _SORRY _that this chapter took so long to get out, and that I didn't respond to the last batch of reviews. I'm very sorry. My computer died and it had to be sent into the Apple Store for repairs and it took weeks. I had a logic board failure that took 2,000 dollars to fix. I lost all my documents and everything. Including my outlines for the this story. I had to wing this chapter over the course of the last two days and I found it very difficult to do. I really struggled with this chapter. It was the hardest to write, to date. **

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_Cannibal:_

**_"I have a heart  
I swear I do  
But just not baby  
When it comes to you  
I get so hungry when you say you love me  
Hush if you know what's good for you." – Cannibal (Ke$ha)_**

_**

* * *

**_

**Hate and love and obsession became so interchangeable to him that there's no reason even trying to differentiate between them**. So Chase doesn't. Doesn't even try to analyze the reason why he broke in here. Doesn't want to think about all the things he is risking by just being here. Here just to watch her sleep.

It's pathetic but he can't help himself.

It's only in the dead of that night that Chase can admit to himself what the feelings are that stir inside his chest every time he looks at her.

It's love.

Chase loves her distantly, like a faint dream. She's something he'll always want, and something he knows he'll never have. She is only an illusion, a perfect idea, and he wishes he could suppress the pain of that knowledge.

He honestly believed he was too fucked up to ever love anyone and he had completely given up hope on ever being able to. Sure, he used the right words, and he pantomimed the right behavior but the feelings never came to pass. He never loved. He knew the dictionary definitions of emotion: longing, joy, But he had no idea what any of those things actually felt like. It like was knowing the words to song but never being able to hear the music.

Then _she_ came along and made him want. Made him crave and he knew he would do anything to have her. With a painful sigh and the weight of the truth bearing down on his shoulders, he brushes the lightest of kisses against her forehead and disappears out of the room. The pain tightens in his chest as she mummers his name in his sleep.

It's only in sleep, only in dreams that he can claim her. In make-believe, I n the sanctuary of dreams the beauty can love the beast.

Chase despite all his faults, he is a realist. He knows that will never happen. He will never be able to call her, his in the light of day. He knows it isn't going to end happily ever after no matter what his heart tells him.

It isn't happiness, it never will be. It's self destruction at it's very best. Yet he still holds onto it because it's the closest thing to feeling Chase has ever had.

* * *

**"What are we going to do now?" Kenyton asks her head spinning at a dizzying rate.**

"_We_ aren't going to do anything." Evelyn bites out despite her best efforts to reign in her temper. "It's out of our hands."

"They are just kids!" Glenn shouted "They can't possibly be expected to handle this."

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Evelyn snapped. "They aren't the same anymore. They aren't our kids. Now, they truly are the Covenant. They have to learn for themselves if they are going to survive."

* * *

**"You're overreacting." **The deep voice came low and lazy from just behind her, sounding almost bored. Chase reacted to Arly's anger the same way he always did—he ignored it.

"You're sick, you know that." She hissed her eyes flashing in frustration.

Heaving an exaggerated sigh, Chase placed his hand over his heart. "Keep saying things like that and I'll start thinking you don't love me anymore."

Arly closed her eyes and counted to ten, reminding herself the entire time that she couldn't dismember Chase, the one person she was assigned to protect. At least not in the middle of her dorm room anyway. The urge to do so was so powerful, however, that she actually felt the tips of her fingers burning as razor-sharp claws pricked impatiently beneath the surface of her skin. She knew it was because of the full moon but that didn't mean she didn't want to rip his heart right out of his chest.

"Don't mess with her, Chase."

The humor vanished from Chase's face. He cursed roughly under his breath, his gaze hot with anger. Arly didn't want to admit that it hurt. She should know better but somehow in the course of taking care of him, she fell in love with him. But she knew thus wasn't Romeo and Juliet. A werewolf couldn't love a witch. Especially when they were both mated to other people.

"Leave it alone," Chase warned. "Don't tell me what to do when it comes to _her_."

"She doesn't deserve this," Arly argued in a low voice, stepping closer. "Not the kind of crap you'll bring down on her head, and all because you wanna get laid."

Chase growled, "Last warning, Arly. Leave it alone."

"I'm telling you, Chase, she doesn't deserve this. I can smell her all over you. Leave her the hell alone."

God, what was Chases problem? He was screwing this damn thing up before it even got started. Atleast Arly was able to think past the red-hazed lust and possessiveness clouding her mind. She didn't care what happened to _her_. Didn't care if she died. But Chase did. And in the end that's all that mattered. But she couldn't keep Chase alive if he didn't grow a brain. One mention of _her _name and Chase was as bad as a gangly teenager high on raging hormones.

Chase didn't even take his eyes off her as he softly replied, "I don't have a choice."

"Bullshit. You know you should walk away. You can't risk it with everything closing in on us. You'd put her right in the line of fire. Do you want that?"

"She's already in the line of fire. And you should know that walking away isn't an option for me," He shot back, careful to keep his voice low.

"Make it one. Try walking away and leaving her alone, before you get her killed."

"Not in this lifetime, sweetheart," he rasped under his breath.

She shook her head in frustration. "Damn it, Chase," Arly hissed, clearly upset.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself."

"This is the last time Arly. Leave it be." Chase growled softly, stepping closer, crowding into her space.

She took a short step back and stopped, pinning him with a hard glare. " You know I'm right."

He didn't say anything just shot her another glare before walking out of the dorm, slamming the door on his way out.

Looked like she was on her own. Damn. If she couldn't get Chase to stay away from _her_ then she would get _her_ to stay away from Chase.

Her smile took on a sharp, dangerous edge. She might actually enjoy this.

* * *

**Sara blows out a frustrated breath. It's late, past 3am, but she can't fall asleep. It's like there's something tugging inside of her, like an invisible rope attached to her stomach and someone at the other end is pulling it. Urging her to stay awake, to stay alert**. The more she tries to ignore it, the tighter the knot in her stomach becomes. Sara just can't shake the gnawing, incessant feeling that something horrible is about to happen. It feels like the seams of her world are about to rip wide open.

She shakes her head; she doesn't want to think about morbid things like that. Instead she curls up in the fetal position and buries her face in the coolness of her pillow.

"Sara…." The soft female whisper comes from somewhere in the front of the room.

Startled, she tries to jump up, to open her eyes and turn and look, but she can't. It's like her eyelids have been sewn shut, she can't move. She tries to listen harder, to prepare herself for whatever is coming. But nothing does come. Just the low hum of her roommate's breathing. Sara takes a shaky breath to calm the overacting beating of her heart. Her fight or flight instincts taking over in a rush of adrenaline.

"Don't tell anyone." The voice continues.

"Who are you?" Sara demands, but nothing comes out. She can feel her lips moving but there's no sound. She tries to fight off the panic, the knowledge that if she screams no one would hear her.

"If you tell, I'll know." The voice is closer now; Sara can feel the breaths at the back of her neck.

"If you tell, I'll make you pay."

Sara tries to raise her hands to fight off what's behind her, but she is literally frozen in place. Her skin is stinging and it hurts to breathe, each breath is harder, colder and shallower. Like someone is sitting on top of her chest.

"Stay away Sara," The voice pleads. "Stay away."

No matter how hard she tries she can't get her body to respond. Her legs won't work and her eyes won't open. It's dark all around her.

"Stay away or I'll make you pay." The voice is coming from above her now, a trickle of something drips down onto Sara's leg. It's moist and warm as it hits her skin.

"Stay away or I'll make you bleed." The voice whispers. Sara's heart throbs in fear, and that warm liquid trickles down Sara's face, dropping from her chin into her chest. "I'll make you bleed, Sara. The voice continues, "You'll bleed until there's nothing left."

Suddenly she's covered in the warm liquid. Chocking on it as it pours down her throat and up her nose. She's drowning in it. Sara bolted awake with a chocked scream, the liquid spurting out of her mouth in a rush and splattering on the wall.

It's everywhere. It's on her pillow, the bed sheets, matted to the tips of her hair, the dark cherry-red stains on her forearms and wrists. She pulled the covers up high and sat shivering, wondering, waiting, while the night held its breath around her. She was caught in a nightmare. Wide awake. It was like being buried alive. The thoughts and impression zoomed across her brain, too many, too fast.

_Stop it._

She wrapped her arms around herself. She was ice cold and couldn't stop shaking.

"Sara?" Kate asks, rolling over in bed. "Are you okay?"

She wants to answer but she can't. She goes to wipe her face, noticing more stains. Her hand trembles over her lips, trying to hold it in, but then a trickle of blood rolls over her fingers. The light clicks on in her room. "Oh my God." Kate rushes out of her bed. "Sara what happened?"

Sara pinches her nose closed to try and make the bleeding stop and looks around for the leopard box of tissues. Their new roommate Abby, sits up in her bed and leans over her pillow to get a better look.

Still holding her nose, she ends up swiping a sock from her foot and pressing it to her nose. "I'm fine. I dust hat a little dosebeed."

"A little nosebleed?" Kate questions.

Sara holds the sock against her nose and looks at the clock. She slept for two hours but she can't remember what she dreamt about. She blots her nose to make sure the bleedings has stopped and moves over to Kate's dresser mirror to look at herself. It's worse then she thought. She looks like she has been beaten. There was patches of blood at the sides of her nose and over her lips. She grabs a strand of her long blonde hair, that's now soiled at the ends with red. She can't help but wonder how long her nose was bleeding before she woke up. And how she could have slept through it all.

She can't help but wonder if she dreamt anything at all. She shakes her head because she just doesn't know and doesn't know why it's so important. Why she so desperately needs to remember what she dreamed? The only thing Sara feels sure of is that she can't break this feeling. The morgue like heaviness that sits on her chest and presses deep into her stomach.

It's the feeling that something terrible is about to happen, something far beyond her worst nightmare that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

And the worst part of it all is that she has the feeling that she'd be powerless to stop it.

Completely powerless.

* * *

**"You're tempting fate, just like your old man," he quietly grunted to himself. "The last thing in the world you need is to be close to her."**

Pogue stood outside staring through narrowed eyes at the wooden door. His mood was dark, edged with impatience, muscles coiled with tension that wound tighter…and tighter with each passing second.

"Your pathetic Parry." He muttered in a husky rasp. "Just knock."

It was a simple enough plan—and yet, Pogue Parry knew there would be nothing simple about it. With any other woman, yes. But not with this one. He concentrated on forcing the aggressive blend of rage and hunger that coursed steadily through his blood beneath a cool, untouched surface of indifference, and finally lifted his hand. With a sharp movement, he rapped his knuckles against the front door. With the rational part of his mind, Pogue accepted the fact that he'd rather be anywhere in the world than standing there, on Hannah's dorm room doorstep.

He was tormented and suffering.

In bright, vivid colors Pogue was tormented. Tormented by the image of Hannah that he can't get out of his mind. Her eyes half closed in drowsy passion, and her lips swollen from his kisses. He admitted he could be in some very deep trouble where Hannah Poltzer was concerned. It wasn't the arousal that concerned him. He had been aroused before, but he had never been this hungry, this intent.

She did more than just make him hungry. She made him yearn and that could be a very dangerous thing. But she also made him curious. And as the saying goes curiosity kills.

"You need to go home, grab a bottle of Jack and find a way to forget she even exists," he muttered to himself, squeezing his eyes tight as he lifted his fist and knocked harder.

He ached so desperately. His cock was swollen and throbbing, pounding like a toothache that refused to ease. Nothing that he did eased the need, or lessened the throbbing. Finally, the lock on the front door clicked, the handle turning, the rasping sound of an old, door filled the air as it quietly opened…

Hannah's eyes narrowed when she took sight of him, and propped her hands on her hips, drawing attention to the ripe curves that had the blood pounding furiously between his thighs.

"You shouldn't be here," she said huskily.

It was obvious she had been sleeping. Her hair was a messy and strand of it were slipping out her braid. His hand lifted and smoothed the strand of hair back as she watched him warily, her breathing rough and ragged. "What's the problem?" he asked, trying to pull off a look of innocence, while his aura was all but buzzing with sharp-edged, predatory energy. He was on the hunt.

Hannah clenched her teeth, then forced herself to relax. If she let him, he'd have her wound up in so many knots, she'd never unwind again " Invite me in," he offered silkily…tempting her to trust the devil.

Hannah rolled her lips together, and shook her head. "That wouldn't be smart."

A low, husky laugh rumbled up from his chest, the provocative sound making her toes curl. "Since when has anything we've ever done been smart?" he drawled, the corner of his sensuous mouth lifting the tiniest fraction. "Come on, I promise I won't bite."

Rolling her eyes, she stepped aside to let him in. "I bet you say that to all the girls."

"Only because it's the truth." The heat of his body brushed hers as he moved past, making her muscles clench, while deep pulses of sexual tension invaded her system like a drug. God, it made her dizzy, the constant push and pull when they were together. "There's only ever been one woman I've wanted to sink my teeth into," he added in a seductive murmur.

"Poor woman," she snorted, trying to keep things light, when inside she was nothing but a chaotic jumble of destructive needs and dreams and desires. His deep laughter made her grin, even while her belly fluttered at the sight of his head tilted back, the muscular line of his throat begging for the press of her lips. Giving herself a mental kick in the backside, Hannah struggled to pull herself out of the sensual haze engulfing her, she wrapped her arms tighter around her body, struggling to hold herself together. "Coming here like this. You're out of your mind, Pogue."

He laughed, just staring at her, the look in his hazel eyes too piercing and beautiful to hold. He called to her, with that brutal, intense energy reaching out, grabbing at her.

"So Caleb is always telling me."

"Then maybe you should listen to him!"

"Maybe I should," he murmured, staring intently at her mouth, a provocative glint in his eyes that made her shiver.

Hannah placed one hand over her heart, the other across her lower abdomen, as if to protect herself, though she didn't fear him physically. No, that had never been the problem. But there was something infinitely fragile inside of her, something breakable, that only he could destroy. In truth, she feared the things he could do to her. Things he could make her feel, make her crave. The way he could shatter her into pieces and leave her broken. And he could.

Her heart was so very vulnerable to him. But she was her own worst enemy—because everything deep inside of her, all those secret places and organs and churning depths of desire, they all burned for him, eager and willing to sacrifice the sense and rightness of protecting herself. She wanted to beg to take him into her, make him a part of her, whether he destroyed her or not. Just to have him close. To reveal her heart to Pogue in the most intimate way.

No, she couldn't risk it. She wouldn't risk it. She backed up and opened the dorm room door. " I can't do this. I can't pretend. You need to go Pogue."

His eyes darkened as he moved back into her personal space, and pushed his palm against her door slamming it closed. The brackets around his mouth tight with frustration, his voice low, full of gravel and bite. "Stop, Hannah"

His eyes narrowed, holding her, making it impossible to look away. "We have a connection, Hannah. You can pretend all you want that it doesn't exist, but it isn't going to just disappear."

"No. You're wrong, There is no connection. Whatever we had," she said coldly,"You killed it a long time ago. I'm not a naive little girl anymore. I've learned how to take care of myself. I don't need you. Not now. Not ever."

He leaned close, curling his rough hands over her shoulders, and she turned her face away…but he merely whispered into the sensitive shell of her ear, as if he was telling a secret. "You just keep saying it enough times, and maybe you'll start believing it. But we both know the truth. I'll hunt you down if I have to, Hannah, but we both know how badly you'll want me to catch you in the end."

"You can hunt me," she gasped, struggling to jerk out of his hold, away from the dangerous, evocative heat of his mouth, "but you'll have to chase me to hell and back before you ever catch me."

With the touch of his calloused fingertips upon her chin, Pogue slowly pulled her face back to him, staring down at her through thick, honey-colored lashes. The intensity of his gaze made her heart lurch, his hazel eyes dark and heavy with possession, as if he owned her.

"I know what hell's like," he told her, the huskiness of his voice like an intimate caress, shivering across her skin. "The threat of it won't scare me off."

Before she could stop him, before she could run, his arm snaked around her back, jerking her to him as his head lowered farther, his gaze locking with hers. "I'll be damned if I'll let you hide from this any longer."

His intent was instantly apparent. Hannah's eyes widened, her fingers forming fists as she pressed against his wide shoulders, her feet fighting to find traction to jerk away from him. To escape the inescapable as his lips covered hers. Time stood still. Nothing existed; nothing moved or breathed except Pogue. His parted lips stole her breath. His tongue pushed past hers, sinking into the surprised depths of her mouth as a sudden taste of spice and heat exploded against her taste buds. The dark, rich taste had her lips moving, clasping the intruder as he licked, stroked. She met his tongue with her own, dancing around it as she attempted to draw more of the blistering taste into her mouth.

She had to fill herself with it, sate her senses with its unique heat as she fought to define the exact taste whipping through her mouth. There was no description. It was lightning and a summer storm. It was cinnamon and saffron, honey and sugar. And it was accompanied by the most incredibly pleasurable kiss she could have imagined.

As usual, Pogue asked for nothing. He swept in and conquered. Claimed. She could feel the claiming in the hard hands that pulled her closer to his body, in the length of the erection pressing against her lower stomach, and gloried in was doing some claiming of her own. Her hands sank into his hair, her fingertips glorying in the feel of the thick, coarse strands that fell well below his wide shoulders. Her hips arched as his hands moved to the rounded curves of her rear, lifting her, notching her thighs into his as his cock pressed against her.

She needed to breathe, to scream out in pleasure, but the need for his kiss was stronger. The taste that filled her captivated her, just as he had captivated her since the moment she first saw him. His tongue nudged against hers imperiously. She tangled with it, stroked it as a warning growl sounded in his chest. She needed more. God, she needed him. Hungered for him. A hot, dark moan echoed in his chest as her whimpers grew in volume and the kiss became rapacious, his tongue thrusting in and out of her hot grip as she writhed against him. She had known it would be like this. Lightning hot, destructive. The pleasure was so intense, so deep, she wondered how she would survive when he left.

"Come here." She moaned as he lifted his head then dipped again for another kiss.

He pulled back again, ignoring her needy little moan, the demand that he return to the kiss. That he return the unique flavor to her mouth, to allow her to relish it, to sate herself on it. Her head fell back as his lips traveled over her neck, his tongue licking at her flesh, sending riotous impulses zigzagging through her nerves.

"Pogue, God, I can't think." She gasped as his head lifted, the incredible taste of him still lingering on her lips, the feel of his tongue echoing on her flesh.

"Don't think." He growled, his lips at the swell of her breast, his tongue stroking the flesh there in long, slow licks. "Damn, you taste good, Hannah. Sweet and hot, like sin itself."

"Enough!" She struggled against him, her fists pressing against his chest as his hand moved to her thigh, his fingers coming too close to the blazing center of her body. God, she needed his touch. Had needed it for days. And now it was so close, satisfaction so near that she could taste it. It tasted of cinnamon and brown sugar. Of nutmeg and male heat. Pure male heat.

"Enough?" He grunted the word, the rough growl in his voice sending shudders quaking through her body as the animalistic sound seemed to echo around her.

"This won't solve anything." She tore from his grip, very well aware that he had let her go, and that it had nothing to do with her own strength,which had completely deserted her now. Even her damned knees were still shaking.

"I can't do this."

He lifted his brow. Hannah felt her teeth gritting as anger surged hot and heavy inside her veins, mixing with the lust to create a cauldron of heat that blazed through the center of her body. He shook his head slowly as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared around the room.

"Why? Why continue to hide, Hannah? What is so frightening?"

She sucked in a sharp breath of air, eyes wide trying to regain her senses. "I learned you can't be too cautious with you Parry."

He pushed his hands deep in his pockets, all traces of tenderness gone from his gaze as the primitive burn of hunger bled through. "I made it clear what I wanted tonight," he told her, the words gritty and raw with intent.

"Yes, you did." Frustration roared through her, swift and urgent and hot. "And if you'll recall, I told you it wasn't going to happen."

"Then it looks like we're at a standoff." He grinned at her, but the lines around his eyes betrayed the gravity behind his words. He had no intention of backing down. Not until he'd got what he wanted. "We'll just have to see who breaks first, won't we?"

His white teeth flashed in a sharp smile, and he stepped back, her opportunity to open the door and throw him out But as Hannah walked to her door, it bothered her—how reluctant she was to take it.

* * *

**The End for this chapter. Happy New Year to ya'll. I hope ya'll ring in the new year happily and safely.**

**Thanks for reading, and I hope you review****.**

**Dee.**


	16. Rolling In The Deep

**A/n: It's been such a long time since I updated this story. _Thank you so much for all the reviews, message and all the love ya"ll showed this story in it's absence! There is nothing better than that feeling! You guys are the best reviewers I have ever had!_**

* * *

"There's a fire starting in my heart

Reaching a fever pitch, and it's bringing me out the dark

Finally I can see you crystal clear." **Rolling in The Deep by Adele**

* * *

**Hannah's hand paused by the door and she cursed her hesitation.** She didn't want him here but she didn't want him to go either. She could feel Pogue watching her. His gaze stayed on her, and she swore the heat mounting beneath her clothing was sinking into her bones.

She looked back at him, the sprawled position he took on her dorm room couch tempting her. Arrogant bastard. Sometimes, she liked that arrogance a little too much. She didn‟t like admitting it. She intended to take that secret to the grave with her. Her lashes lifted until she was staring into his determined, arrogant expression. She wanted to curl into his lap. She wanted to warm herself against him.

Illogical. Irrational. Insane. A man shouldn‟t be this sexy or so damned irritating.

"Bastard!" She glared at him furiously before turning on her heel, attempting to stalk her way back to her bedroom intent on getting just as far away from him and as fast as possible.

Coming back from Italy her was supposed to help her stop living in the past. To gain her independence back from dreams of Pogue that had haunted her. It was suppose to be a step away from preconceived notions of who or what she should be so she could just be herself for a change. She wasn't shy little complement Hannah Poltzer anymore. She was her own person and she refused to let Pogue turn her back into that weak willed little girl who all but begged for him to notice her. To love her.

Instead, she was right back where she started with Pogue. He still made zero sense and still threatened to invade her heart as well as her life.

Anger surged inside her, but it was at herself more than at him. Anger that she was letting him get close, risking her heart and her independence on a man she knew would be impossible to get out of her system.

She practically skidded to a stop as Pogue carefully slid his way in front of her with an easy grace. It was downright eerie, the way he moved. Pogue glowered down at her, his head bent, his shoulder-length, hair falling around the face of a fallen angel. Russet eyes glittered with sparks of irritation, and his expression was too damned sensual to be scary in anything but the most primal of ways. Oh yeah, Pogue Parry terrified her. She was scared to death she was going to lose control and jump his bones

But Hannah Poltzer refused to back down. Her pride wouldn't allow it.

"You are in my way." Hannah lifted herself until her nose touched his. "Get out of it."

His expression changed then, shifted. His eyes narrowed, and the savage remorseless determination flashed in his eyes. She should have run then and there. She should have turned tail and run as fast as she could to the safety of her bedroom. The minute his hands latched on her upper arms, the second she realized his intention and his head lowered, she should have slammed her knee into his groin and had done with it.

If she'd had time.

Between one second and the next his lips covered hers, his tongue pushed between her lips as they parted in surprise, and oh hell in a handbasket, she was lost. Those eatable, kissable lips were devouring hers. His tongue stroked inside her mouth as the taste of heated spice filled her senses. The taste of cinnamon, nutmeg and male heat drifted over her greedy tongue. She loved the taste of him.

Hannah found herself melting against him. She shivered. That hard, luscious body braced her weight as his hands cupped her rear and lifted her closer. His head slanted, the kiss grew deeper, a hard growl rasping his throat as she let her lips surround his probing tongue, and she sought more of his taste. It was there, each time she caressed the tongue twining with hers, subtle, urging her to consume more, to hold him closer, to devour this kiss. And it terrified her. She felt her independence, hard-won and imperative, fighting beneath the claiming she could feel coming, screaming out in warning until she jerked back, struggled, stumbled from his grip as she stared back at him, panting from the need suddenly tearing through her.

That was the warning her brain had been screaming for weeks. To get away, to escape while she could still run, and to put as much distance between her and Pogue as possible and to never let him put his claim on her.

So why did the thought of it threaten to cripple her? Why couldn't she move? Why in the hell was she aching to touch him? To claim him just as he intended to claim her?

She needed her head examined. Somewhere between last night and this morning she had misplaced her sanity. Despite herself she lifted her hand, touched his lips. Lips that mesmerized her, left her aching, a miracle of pleasure, just as she had known they would be.

"You're mine." There was no sexy teasing in his voice, no flirty seductiveness.

His dark eyes glittered with predatory awareness and with triumph. Her hand dropped away from him.

"You're insane," she gasped.

"Mine."

She knew it was more then just words, that somehow that one little word was going to change everything.

"You can't do this," she gasped as one of his hands smoothed down her back and back up again in a sensual caress.

"I was born to do this," he growled.

The feel of his hands on her had her lungs pumping for oxygen, her lips parting to draw more in. How was she supposed to breathe? He surrounded her, sucked all the air out of the room, and he was touching her.

"I have dreamed of nothing but this since the moment I laid eyes on you three years ago."

Hannah felt the breath rasp from her throat. She just wanted this touch. Just this once. Right now.

"Hate me as much as you want, Hannah. But it changes nothing. It can change nothing. You're mine."

Hannah struggled beneath the statement, fighting to refute it, to find some way to counter it. But how was she supposed to fight anything when desire clawed through her system?

His hand reached up, surprising her by touching her cheek. "Give me one night. Just let me stay for one night." He held his hand out to her. "At least give me that. Let me take care of you tonight."

"I hate what you're doing to me. What this is doing to me," she muttered, feeling the defenses she had been building crumble. He wasn't demanding anything, he was asking, and it wasn't a ruse. He wasn't pretending.

It was just one night. How could she say yes? How could she say no? Pogue stirred emotions she hadn't allowed herself to feel in a long time. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to give him the opportunity to unthaw her frozen heart. And he could. She recognized that.

And when he chooses Kate again where would that leave her? Could she survive another heartbreak?

Hannah stared at his hand, fighting herself now as much as she was fighting him. This was a side of him she hadn't seen. There was no teasing, no flirting. She wondered for a moment who this man was, whose eyes were so somber, whose expression wasn't dominating but rather filled with quiet pride and confidence. She lifted her hand and placed it against his, feeling the roughness of his palm, the strength of his fingers as he clasped it and led her to her bedroom. Where she folded against his chest, his hands rubbing against her back, his warmth enfolding her. She felt his lips press to the top of her head, though, and couldn't stop the smile that tugged at her lips.

It was then that she knew running from Pogue wasn‟t going to work. Even more, running from herself wasn‟t going to work. The old saying you can run but you can‟t hide more than applied at the moment. She was running from the emotions she had hid for three years, and now she was going to have to figure out exactly how to deal with them.

* * *

**The Next Morning:**

**Caleb was ready.** Ready to kill. He burned with a cold, relentless fury. He couldn't believe she'd run out on him in the middle of the night with nothing but a note on the pillow that said:

_This doesn't change anything. – K_

Caleb couldn't explain, even to himself, why the hell the thought of her leaving, running, affected him like it did. It made him crazy, made him wild. Made him determined to show her exactly why she wasn't ever going to walk away from him ever was throbbing, his flesh sensitive, his body demanding relief from the one tempted him so desperately. Lust wasn't like that. He knew knew it wasn't like this. It didn't drug, it didn't intoxicate. It didn't dig its claws into you, demanding satisfaction.

"Caleb." He could hear the urgent call of his name in the hallway, the sound muffled as if he were underwater.

He couldn't stop. He had to find Kelly first. Caleb moved forward but a hand on his arm was holding him back. It was Pogue. As if it was beyond his control, he felt his eyes go black and the urge of power rush through his body like nicotine. The urge to harm Pogue was so strong he shook with it. What the hell was wrong with him? He could hear the harsh blast of his angry panting. Feel the cold, cruel sweat that covered his skin.

What was happening to him? The icy fear in his gut shifted morphing into something too ugly and sharp and destructive for words.

"Caleb, Gorman needs us."

"I got to do something first. I'll meet you there." He growled, impatient to get the hell out of hallway, find Kelly and drag her back to his bed where she belonged.

"I can't let you do that Caleb." Pogue drawled. "Under strict orders not to."

Rage, perfect and pure, sparked to life in Caleb. "Get out of my way Pogue."

Reid lunged to force his way between the two, but Caleb was already taking Pogue down. They hit the ground hard, rolling across the floor, the hallway suddenly filled with the shouts of "Fight" and the brutal, battering sounds of battle. It was the sound harsh shout of "Caleb." That bought the fight to a halt. Caleb froze and his head whipped around at the sound of his mother's voice. Locking his jaw, Caleb stood up and helped Pogue to his feet. Fighting the instinct churning his gut that demanded he find his mate.

When did he start thinking of Kelly like that?

"Gorman is waiting." Evelyn scolded before turning her back and walking straight out of the school's doors.

Caleb didn't move, he turned to look at Pogue shame drifting across his features. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was-"

"Save it man. Gorman warned me that was going to happen."

He watched Pogue walk forward and Caleb drew in a slow, deep breath, letting the air fill his lungs, seeking the cool, calm remoteness that he'd always been able to pull down around him. But it was gone. Shattered, ground into dust, replaced by this unstable, incomprehensible chaos of hunger and worry and gnawing uncertainty. Christ, he felt shredded. Scraped raw. And there was no denying the panic clawing at his insides, slashing him into emotional ribbons.

"You coming or what?" Reid taunted as he followed Pogue, flinging a teasing look back over his shoulder.

* * *

**Caleb could smell her on him**. And the scent of her was making him crazy. His hands clenched into fists, his body tightened with his need. It was nearly unbearable. He flexed his shoulders, fighting to relax the tension tearing through him. It was an uncomfortable sensation, prickles of awareness that

tightened his muscles and left his flesh with an odd sensitivity.

He wanted her touch.

He could remember the feel of her hands in his hair as he kissed her, tugging at the strands as those hot little moans came from her throat. He wanted to feel her palms on his naked flesh, her lips at his throat, his neck again. He wanted her with a hunger that was beginning to make him crazy.

He felt like a caged animal, feeling the walls closing in on him, and he wanted to run. Run until he found his mate and his body was taking hers until she was screaming for mercy. It was those screams of pleasure he needed to hear. Ached to hear. He shook his head, fighting back a sense of imbalance and a nearly overwhelming urge to force his way out of this living room. Caleb leaned back against the couch behind him and breathed a hard sigh.

"What's going on with me ?" Caleb's voice was less violent, but the potential of it throbbed just beneath the surface.

Gorman turned worried eyes to Caleb. "Your going through the changes, Caleb."

A dangerous growl filled the air "What changes?" He all but snarled.

"Have you mated her already?" Evelyn asked her voice was distant, though the thread of shock was readily apparent.

"She's mine," Caleb affirmed. "That‟s all you need to know, Mom."

"You kissed her, you mated with her already Caleb did you not?" Gorman asked gently, knowingly.

Caleb's voice was so animalistic that he almost didn't recognize it. "So?"

Evelyn pushed her fingers wearily through her hair. "You claimed her as your blood mate and she claimed you. It changes you." She said fiercely, frowning.

His woman. His mate. That was all that mattered, all he cared about. Claiming what belonged to him. The hunger for his mate was growing even stronger. The possessiveness, the need, the demand that he claim her was becoming overwhelming.

It was getting hard to sit here. Something inside him pulled and tugged demanding that he satisfy its desires.

Fury whipped through him at her blatant disregard of his claim. He needed to find her and make damn sure she knew that he belonged to him. That he would kill another who touched her. Arousal was reaching critical mass. The urge to mate her, to mark her, again was threatening his control.

"Caleb I know it's getting harder to sit here. But I need you to listen carefully." Gorman said quietly but firmly. "With that claim you awakened that primal power inside yourself. It's going to burn through you Caleb. That need for her is going to take hold and it will never let you go."

Caleb breathed in hard and deep and fought back the emotion clawing at his chest, at his throat.

"There are going to be physical symptoms Caleb. The need to be close, to feel that bond with your mate. The tension will rise in you when you don't. When you've gone without her too long. Don't let it get that far. You could hurt her."

Caleb was filled with broken, hollow anger at the thought of hurting her. He would die before he hurt his mate. It was that simple.

"What your going through now is called mating heat. A frenzy. Your claim heightened your senses, your need and your arousal for your mate. It's assuring that neither of you can refuse what nature demands." Gorman's voice rumbled with power, with determination.

The look on Evelyn's face when she spoke was somber, her brown eyes filled with compassions and fear. "You marked her in a way nature will not let you deny. You're forever bound to each other."

Caleb expression turned savage, almost feral at the words. He should have stayed away from Kelly, Caleb thought tiredly as he glimpsed the shadows in Gorman and his mother's eyes. The worry that shadowed them.

"I should have stayed away." Caleb whispered. "But I couldn't let her go."

"I know Caleb," Evelyn said softly, sighing with aching regret. "I know exactly how you feel baby."

* * *

**What had he done to her?**

What was wrong with her? Kelly was on fire. Dying. Her body shined with sweat, pulsating, throbbing with a fever of lust. She wasn't going to make it through History like this. She felt feverish, uncertain, almost dazed with the needs that threatened to bring her to her knees with their intensity.

Need arched like electricity over her body. Hungry, consuming. She wanted, needed Caleb. She had never been so crazed with arousal. No, this wasn't arousal. It went even beyond lust. It was a compulsion, a hunger that tore through her, making its demands nearly irresistible.

Somehow, someway he had made her crazed for his touch, his kiss. That kiss had been so hot, spicy. The taste of his mouth lingered in hers, making her crave more of it. Now, if she could just get him to do it again. She would have to find him first, though. Where the hell was he anyhow? She looked around the room hoping that he would magically appear.

She would laugh, if she weren't so hot. If the need pulsing through her body was so intense, so searing. She could handle wanting Caleb until she ached, but this was ridiculous.

Kelly groaned, shifting in her classroom seat, breathing roughly. She could get through this. She blew out hard, attempting to find some measure of control. She could do this, she thought.

She was so fucking screwed.

* * *

**"And that is what's wrong with Caleb."** Gorman said with a lengthy sigh.

"Well," Tyler breathed out roughly. "Hell."

"No." Reid shook his head, his baby blue eyes flashing black. "Something has to stop this. Now." He couldn't accept anything else.

Evelyn watched him with deep brown eyes filled with compassion. Her expression was calm, sympathetic, and pitying. It pissed him the hell off.

"The effects are temporary, Reid, but not without a certain price." She turned to leave the room, leaving Reid with too many damned questions and no answers.

"Wait." Reid demand his snarl furious. "Tell me how to stop this now."

The look on Evelyn's face when she turned back was somber. "You can't stop it now. It has to run its course. The time you can stand to wait for mating is limited. I know you have questions, and some of them I can answer. But not now."

Reid drew in a rough breath, staring at Evelyn's implacable expression. She looked more than determined, and Reid had a feeling she was more scared then any of them were. Reid wanted to kill. "There's no way to get rid of it? This frenzy?"

"No. Over time it will ease." Reid froze at the her words. "But you won't be free of your mate, even then. Nature is a little smarter than we've given her credit for here. You and your mate will never be able to separate. You're her mate. Forever."

Reid stared at the Caleb's mother for a long, silent minute. If Evelyn didn't look so serious, Reid would have laughed in her face. Unfortunately, this just didn't feel like a good time to find amusement in a situation rapidly bordering nightmare quality.

"Like hell I am." Reid jumped to his feet, paying little attention to the chair that flew out behind him, turning over on the carpeted floor. He could feel Tyler and Pogue staring at him but they stayed amazingly still.

_Fuck that! What was wrong with them? _

This was not good. He stared at Evelyn's calm expression, feeling panic well inside him as the Caleb's mother watched him almost pityingly.

"Reid, you need to understand…"

"No, _you_ need to understand," He retorted furiously as he pushed his fingers desperately though his hair. "I did not ask for this. I won't accept this."

"Reid, denying it won't help." Evelyn said slowly inching closer to him. "God knows I tried. I've been where you are. I know how confused you are and how pissed you are. But your mate didn't ask for this, either. Not in any way. She'll suffer the same as you."

Reid stared up at her unblinking. He could feel hysteria building inside his mind as he fought to accept what he considered the unacceptable.

"Reid, you have to understand…" Evelyn tried again.

"Wrong." Reid's hand slashed through the air as he rejected Evelyn's plea. "I don't have to understand shit. This is my life. I won't let this happen to her. Or to me."

The thought of Jezebel suffering because of him made him insane with grief.

"You have no choice," Evelyn protested. "Now that Caleb mated and asserted him as Alpha of your growing powers, that need to claim your mate will only grow in you all. Will grow in your mates till you can't fight it anymore. That yearning, will burn through your hotter and more painful then Ascension did for you."

Reid didn't know what to say, what to do. He felt fragmented, dazed by the events that were happening too fast to allow him to catch his breath, to make sense of what was happening. He breathed in roughly, pushing his fingers through his hair fighting the panic blooming inside him. What was he supposed to do? Okay, he couldn't kill Caleb for starting this. He was sure the others in his family would consider that a no-no. No matter how damned bad he needed to shed his blood now for damning them all for to this. And Caleb Alpha? Over him? **Hells to the no. **The little pep talk wasn't helping. He could feel something inside his chest thickening with pain at the thought of it all.

There was no doubt he wanted Jezebel. No doubt that she was pure perfection, and perfect for him. He wanted her more then he had ever wanted anything. But the thought of having her with him when she didn't want to be there made him sick to his stomach. He didn't want her to be there because her hand was forced, because nature demand it so. He wanted to her to be there because she simply wanted to be.

_What the hell happened to playboy Garwin?_ He thought sadistically. _When did you become so whipped?_

Reid admitted to himself what he would never admit out loud.

He wanted Jezebel to love him.

* * *

**A/n: And that is the end of this chapter! The next one will be up by latest on _Saturday. April 23rd._ I look forward to hearing what you think! Don't forget to check out the banner's that MelindaM so awesomely made me for this story! **

**Thanks again. Hope you review. **

**Dee.**


	17. Arms

**A/n: So I'm so late with this chapter but I think I more than made up for. This chapter is thirty-three pages. I hope that it makes up for my terrible updating schedule. **

**Warning: Sexual Situations! If that is not your thing.. please don't read! You have been warned!**

* * *

_"I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart_

_But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start_

_How many times will let you me change my mind and turn around_  
_I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown_

_I hope that you see right through my walls_  
_I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling_

_The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be loved_  
_I never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone." **Arms by Christina Perri**_

* * *

**"You know, I meant to say something earlier, but everything just started happening and I never got the chance."** Tyler said softly as they walked through the forest trail to Spencer's, the afternoon sun leading the way. Reid's cigarette was dangling off his fingers and his contraband liquor hiding under his thick jacket.

Reid sent his best friend a wary look. "What is it baby boy?"

Tyler rolled one shoulder in a restless gesture. "I just wanted to make sure that you're handling this okay."

Oh, Reid knew exactly what Tyler meant by this.

Jezebel.

His soulmate.

Reid tossed the cigarette on the ground, his voice tight as he asked, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Come on, Reid," Tyler snorted, shaking his head. "I'm your best friend, man."

"You make it sound like we're going steady," Reid grunted, knowing where this was headed, and not wanting to go there.

"I'm just trying to say that…hell, I know how you've felt about love and this kind of stuff ever since your Mom, and I know you never planned on it happening to you. The eternal bachelor was your promise. Now that it has, I just wanted to make sure you were handling it okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine," he stated flatly.

"Are you sure?" Tyler pressed, clearly unwilling to just let it go.

Blowing out a rough breath of frustration, he growled, "Jesus, baby boy, what do you want from me?"

A lopsided smile played over Tyler's mouth, but his eyes burned with a directness that said he was seeing through Reid's bluff. "The truth would be nice."

The truth? Damn, Reid wasn't even sure what the truth was anymore. Itchy. Yeah Itchy. That was how Jezebel made him feel, as if he had a million freaking ants in his pants, all of them skittering over his skin. Tall and slender, with celestial blue eyes. Eyes That looked like a perfect cloudless sky. And that face, a perfectly round shaped face that looked as if it'd been carved from fine porcelain, if it wasn't for that alone freckle perched on the arc of her left cheekbone.

Jezebel was undeniably beautiful. Her scent of sandalwood, ink, and paper and those tortoiseshell glasses of hers were on a man's libido. Not to mention that long brunette braid that swung down her back when she walked. That braid fascinated him. It made him long to feel her hair on his chest, to run his fingers through it. He felt her presence as if she was apart of him, plastered against his skin. When he'd slept, she'd filled his dreams, and his waking hours had been spent constantly wondering where she was…what she was doing.

It was driving him crazy. She might be one of the most irritating individuals he'd ever known but whether Jezebel wanted him or not—she had him.

And that was the kicker of it all. One of those maddening anomalies in the universe that made it clear someone up there either had a really sick sense of humor…or just got a kick outta screwing with some people's lives —because there was no doubt that the world would've been a hell of a lot simpler for Reid if he'd gotten mated to someone like Kiera instead of someone like Jezebel a smart ass brunette with prickly attitude.

He growled, cursing a string of coarse, ugly words under his breath, scrubbing the palm of his hand over the bristled surface of his jaw again, the faint shadow of his white blond-colored beard coming through, adding to his rugged appeal.

He rubbed the bottle hiding under his shirt; at least alcohol would never let him down.

* * *

**Heat flashed through him, a burning wave of searing pleasure as Caleb laid eyes on her.** He spotted her in one of the private study rooms. Logically he knew better then to let himself to be in the same room with her right now. But his body and his soul had other's plan. His control was non-existent.

He had needed this. Ached for it. From the moment he had first started dreaming of her, he had prayed for it.

She had run from him. She had left, refusing to see who she belonged to, refusing to allow him, _him, her mate,_ the chance to love her.

She would never step aside again, she would never think to turn from him by the time he was done with her.

* * *

**Kelly felt him approaching. The heat of his body wrapped around her, infusing her arousal, making her eyes dampen with emotion, with the need for his touch.**

She should ignore him. She should look away.

She _**wanted**_ to look away, really she did but what could she say she was weak – and Caleb Danvers was oh so tempting. She felt her body flush with heat as his eyes roamed over her from across the room. Her mouth suddenly went dry as she saw his tongue move along his lips as he sat looking at her. She tore her eyes away from his as he started to make his way over to her a predatory glint in his eye visible as he got closer.

She was tensing to move, to force herself to leave the room before he got there when the slam of a door had her stiffening. A snarl filled the room and the private study room's door burst open, thrown into the wall with a force that shook the room.

Caleb looked savaged. Enraged

"You ran out on me, Kelly."

Kelly swallowed tightly, her head jerking up as his tone hardened.

"There was nothing to run out on." She kept her voice firm, steady.

The shadowed landscape lighting gave his expression a darker, more dangerous cast. His eyes gleamed in the low light, piercing into hers.

She watched, entranced as he paused at the foot of the door. He looked bigger, his muscles more powerful, the strength in his body amplified.

In made her burn. She was burning at the sight of him. Kelly could feel the blistering arousal burn brighter inside her. She was hungry for the taste of Caleb. For the feel of him. His possession and his kiss.

She swallowed tightly. "I told you it was no big thing. Nothing has to change." Her breath hitched on a sob. She was going to cry, and she couldn't bear crying in front of him. She wanted to be strong.

His brown eyes flashed with rage, pinpoints of gold flaring in them like fire.

She moved to rush from the room, to leave this all behind her one and for all.

But Caleb wouldn't have it. He caught her before she did more than tense. He was on her, snarling. His fingers tangled in her hair, held her in place, and the enraged lust that filled his face had her heart tripping.

"Mine." The growl was savage.

"No . . ." Because he was going to kiss her. Give her something that belonged to another girl. Not to her. Kelly never took anything that didn't belong to her and the sad truth was Caleb was one of those things. .

And yet she couldn't evade him.

His lips came down on her, slanted over hers, and his tongue passed into her mouth with determined hunger. Greed. With a desperation that surged through her senses and a taste that had her going still inside.

Wild. Primal. Heat and lightning, power and dark hunger. It filled her mouth. It covered her tongue, and it was so good. Like nectar. She fought it. She bit at his tongue, but not hard.

She moved against him, feeling his erection pressing against her stomach, his hand petting her hair. Her own hands were pressed against him, the feel of his flesh warming them, exciting them. Her fingers curled against him as she fought to restrain herself. To keep from attacking him. Devouring him.

A second later his teeth nipped her neck, sending curling pleasure/pain rushing straight through her. She moved against him, feeling his erection pressing against her stomach, his hand petting her hair.

She wasn't ready for this. Not ready face her emotions. The ones that clawed at her far deeper than the arousal did. Satisfaction, because he had chosen her. Though she didn't know why anyone would pick her plain, short and plump Kelly over the skinny, tall and beautiful Sara.

But he was.

The sound of Caleb's voice distracted her form her dark thoughts.

Calebs voice had changed, becoming deeper, darker. "If you want it, then you'll have to take it yourself, mate."

_Mate. _

That simple word invoked something inside of her_. _Her hands as if on there own free will clawed at his shoulders, as the pleasure seemed to radiate inside her, brighter, hotter. Feeling her heart pounding in her chest as he stared down at her with those deep brown eyes of his.

"Do you want me, Kelly?" he crooned, his voice heating with his own arousal.

Nervousness rose inside her as she tried to fight it back.

"That's a stupid question, Caleb."

He grinned as she pointed that out.

"Then come to me," he told her. "All you have to do is take what's yours."

She flinched. He had to say it like that. And he knew what he was doing; she saw it in the narrowing of his eyes, the tightening of his features. She lifted her chin, staring back at him furiously. It hurt. He couldn't realize how much it hurt, fearing that she would eventually lose him. Logically she knew had only known him for a couple of weeks, but she already loved him, needed him.

"Katie's a dirty liar. You were supposed to be the nice one." She stated, trying for cold, but her voice trembled with need.

"Oh, I was very nice," he assured her. "I still am. Notice if you will, I haven't yet spanked for running out on me last night. Though, the option is still there."

She needed to protest that. She really did. But as he spoke, he shifted his hard body against hers and she lost her breath, her will to fight. She licked her lips. She felt dazed, so hungry, suddenly so desperate that she whimpered.

"Caleb." She lifted her gaze to him. Imploring.

"It's so easy, Kelly" he whispered. "To take what you need."

"Take what isn't mine," She bit out, anger rising inside her at the thought.

The dark, warning growl that rumbled from his throat had her flinching.

He kept his arms around her, but they bunched. "Don't push me today, Kelly," he warned her. "This is no place for it, and my patience is raw enough as it is. If you need me, I'm here."

"Damn you!" she cried, aching, bleeding inside from the emotional storm rising inside her.

"Damn you for your stubbornness!" he bit back.

He wanted to torment her? Torture her? Then she would play his game as well, for as long as she could stand it.

She swung one leg over his waist, and leaned forward as his one of his moved underneath her to hold her to him and the other spread into her hair. His head lifted, his lips slanting over hers and his tongue in her mouth. It was addictive. She needed it. Needed it even as it made her writhe.

She reveled in the pleasure, in his touch, in the knowledge, that for now, this moment, he was all hers. She sucked at his tongue, tangled her own with it and felt his kiss rock her soul. It was as deep, as hungry, as her own. A growl rumbled in his chest, and sent a vibration of pleasure streaking through her.

She was too needy, too hungry to wait. He said to take what she needed. And she needed desperately. Needed all of him, physically, emotionally.

"Give it to me," she demanded, nearly panting for him "Give it to me now."

Every muscle in Calebs' body tightened at the look in her eyes and an animal like growl rumbled up through his chest.

She wet her lips –her tongue tiny, pink and delicate – and he wanted to grab hold of her and ravage the sweet, inner well of her mouth and that kittenish little tongue until she was sobbing and pleading for more, for everything he could give her. His lungs heaving with need, even the air between their bodies felt thick, heavy, the tension growing and expanding, her luminous eyes shocked wide, as if she felt it too.

"You have no idea what I could give you." He rasped his eyes burning with anger, lust and something that was seething just beneath the surface.

Show me than." She said huskily.

He growled out a mumbled oath, his control snapping so sharply she could have sworn she could hear the sibilant hiss as it shattered and than he was there the touch of his warm mouth electric against the coolness of her own. And it took her breath, stealing it straight from her panting lungs. He kissed like something that was feral and wild – as if he could take every part of her through her mouth and claim it for his own.

She moaned, unable to get enough of him. He growled low in his throat and kissed her harder than and his hands clutching at the slivery sides of her throat, thumbs pressed just beneath her quivering chin . His mouth slanting across hers, taking instant possession, demanding her submission. She gave it freely. He overwhelmed her, his taste, his scent and his touch sent everything inside her going hot and soft, melting for him. She ached from deep inside all the way to the surface of her skin, her desire making her crazed for more of his touch, his taste.

"Caleb" She gasped tilting her pelvis until she could feel the thick, heavy ridge inside his jeans pressing into the aching needy part of her. "Please don't stop. Don't stop."

He swallowed her breathless plea and his hands moved down her collarbone, over her chest until the lush weight of her breasts filled his hands, her nipples like hardened berries beneath his thumb as he stroked them. They both gasped, breaths soughing together, and Caleb slid one hand under the neckline of her shirt and wrenching until the fabric gave with a sharp slice of a sound. His fingers ruthlessly burrowed beneath the delicate lace of her bra, and he cupped her naked breast in the rough heat of his palm, molding, rubbing, pinching and massaging as the other hand ran down her back and curving around that sweet ass. He jerked her backward until her back hit the edge of the desk and lifted her on it without breaking the kiss.

"Pull your skirt out of the way." He growled his voice savage, dark and full of predatory demand. Without a moments of hesitation she wrenched the fabric out of the way and opened her legs to him whimpering as he ground into her, and the knowledge that only his jeans and her panties separated her from the one thing she wanted right now set her body aflame.

Now that he had her in his arms and under his hands, Caleb couldn't get enough. She tasted like something he needed to live and now that he found it he would be damned if anyone was going to take her away from him. The need to consume her had him groaning and pressing further into her. His hands roamed wildly down the line of her spine, her shoulders, ribs, the lush swells of her breasts. He was shaking with the need to rip her clothes from her body and bare them to his gaze and his touch. He wanted nothing more than to sink to his knees and press his face into that most intimate part of her, taking her with his tongue, lashing and thrusting until she gave him everything he wanted, tasting every part of her.

"More." She moaned, breathless biting at his lower lip and he lost it. His restraint broke and he knew he was going to have her right here, right now on the study room floor. Chanting a low stream of curse words into her mouth, he pressed his hand between her legs and ripped the out the damp gusset of her panties, the tender delicate feel of her sex beneath him caused him to moan and his body to tremble with need.

She was hot, wet, the softest sweetest thing he ever felt and immediately he buried two thick fingers deep inside her, his thumb brushing against the swollen heat of her. She cried out and he pressed deeper, sinking all the way up to his knuckles. He stroked her with his thumb, and his fingers curled inside her stroking her deep inside as well. She stiffened in his arms for a tight breathless second and than melted against him. Shivering and whimpering with pleasure against his mouth as the sensations inside her swelled. He swallowed every sound their breathe tangled, gasping and rough. He wanted more. All of her. Everything he could take.

"Kelly," He groaned rubbing her name into his lips and she arched against him, pulsing hard and deep around his fingers, filling him slowly with desire. "I want you to come in my hand, all hot slick and wet. I want it right now!"

Kelly moaned his name, crazed with the need to feel every possible inch of him that she could. Somehow, she managed to claw his shirt up and over his hand without breaking the contact for longer than a moment and tossed it to the floor. Then she groaned deep in her throat running her hands over the masculine power she uncovered. She ran her hands over the fever-hot skin of his shoulders, and running the length of his spine lightly scratching his back on her way up.

The taste of his mouth and the feeling of his hands on her was better than anything she had ever known before. He didn't touch her because he wanted to seduce her, he touched her, and tasted her as if he had to. As if, he craved her. As if, he was starved for her. Those wicked, wonderful fingers were quickly unraveling her into a hot sobbing; shivering mess as he gently pinched her nipple between his thumb and his forefinger the other buried possessively between her thighs. She wanted to hold on to the sensations that were moving through warp speed throughout her body but they were too overwhelming to contain, and he was just too ruthless in his insistence, demanding her pleasure. Knowing just where to touch her and how deep to stroke, to thrust and how fast , devastating her with the knowledge of her body, as if he knew just how to make her burn.

And he did. She felt blinded by the intensity and shocking rush of swelling ecstasy that slammed into her knocking the breath from her lungs in a loud, keening cry. She flung her head back the pleasure pumping wonderfully throughout her body. She felt his mouth press against the rapid flutter of her jugular, felt the erotic slid of his teeth as he stroked them across her vulnerable flesh before he bit down-hard sure enough to leave a bruise and maybe draw a hint of blood.

Biting her ear just before he growled into it.

"Mine." His eyes flashed ownership at her. Kelly went liquid. She'd never, in her life, gone fully wet from nothing but a nip on the ear, but she had when he did it.

Of course, just the sound of his voice made her dampen her panties so it really shouldn't be that much of a shock. She tightened her legs around him without conscious thought, a natural reaction to the full state of arousal he'd just effortlessly taken her to despite the fact she fell from the ecstasy plateau just seconds ago.

"All yours." She purred her acquiescence to his claim. Her hands moved down his body to grasp what she really wanted. "Mine."

That knowledge cranked up the stunning force in the room making her want him so bad, she was willing to beg for it if she could find enough air in her lungs for anymore speech. She pulled him closer and he kissed her harder and she greedily accepted his aggression –matching it. No matter how hard he kissed her, she kissed him back with a breathless urgency as if knowing turned her on more than the touch of his mouth against hers. The next thing Caleb knew he was trapping her up against her study room wall, surprised to find they had move from off the desk. Pushing her against the smooth surface of the wall, he curled his fingers around her left knee and lifted, the spread position giving him room to press his aching erection into the soft, hot liquid part of her.

"Please." Kelly pleaded. "I need you."

That was all it took to spend them crashing against the floor , and before the feel of her body on top of his drove out all coherent thought , he was glad he locked that damn door when he came barreling in. His breath hissed through his teeth with the keen sensation, his body feeling everything more intensely with her withering under him. His right hand worked furiously with the buttons on his jeans, grunting in victory as the button broke free and his able to have Kelly in the way he dreamed of for months now.

He gasped as he surged into her and her nails dug into his back as she pleaded and moaned for more. Caleb had every intention of filling each and every one of her pleas. He started to move, deeper and faster and it broke him down. The feeling of burying himself inside her until she'd taken all of him was more than he could bare. He swallowed her sharp groan of pleasure as he pulled back and slammed back into her in the way he dreamed of doing since the moment he first dreamed of her. Each thrust sweeter than the last for the both of them.

It was over an hour later before Kelly could even feel her bones in her body. It took another minute for her to be able to coherently think and remember her own name. She absolutely adored every minute of it. In the aftermath of what Kelly full heartedly believed to be one of the most incredible experiences of her life. Kelly laid curled into Caleb's side on his study room floor with her body sprawled across his amazing muscular chest. They had redressed and their breathing had long since returned to normal. One of his hands rested possessively on the small of her back, his thumb stroking a lazy sensual pattern, which made her want to purr in pleasure.

Something inside her had eased at the easiness in which they laid together while another part of her tensed.

He chose her, for now. She was terrified the other shoe would drop later.

She wanted him to love her, to choose her. But she no matter how hard she believed or how hard she wished it was never going to happen. Boys like him didn't choose girls like her when they had someone like Sara waiting in the wings to love them.

And, Kelly just hated him for that.

_She just…_

She just loved him.

* * *

**"Afternoon, Hannah."** Pogue's deliberate drawl as he sauntered up to her locker, had the hair on the back of her neck rising in instant defense. That drawl never indicated a pleasant conversation where Pogue was involved.

It wasn't as if any conversation she had with him was ever pleasant. He insisted on provoking her at every opportunity and generally did his level best to see just how angry he could make her.

His eyes were cool, calculating, watching her with an amused mockery that made her ache to scratch them out. That need was in direct conflict with the overpowering urge to kiss him silly.

He was leaning negligently against the locker, his tall, leanly muscled body relaxed and tempting. She swallowed, dragging her gaze away from him. She almost shivered at the thought of it against as heat rushed over her, through her.

"Ohh, now there's something interesting." His amused voice was pitched low as he obviously caught the betraying color. "What's the blush for, Hannah? Getting overheated?"

"Pogue, you're starting to irritate me," she told him coolly without turning back. "The cute little remarks are getting on my nerves. ."

He grunted, the sound filled with sarcasm. "Be nice, Hannah."

"Leave me alone. I swear I'm going to tie you up somewhere and leave you to dehydrate." she told him heatedly In a second his expression went from smug laughter to intense, dark sexuality.

"Ropes, huh?" His voice turned velvet rough, his gaze dropping to her breasts as they rose beneath the cotton T-shirt she wore. "Kinky. I like to play rough."

Heat erupted between her thighs. Damn him and his teasing. Could the day get any worse? she asked herself sarcastically. His eyes glittered, his expression darkening with hunger. If she looked lower, she knew she would see a bulge in his jeans.

"My room or yours?" He murmured as he stepped closer, his heavy body moving with fluid grace and male power. Why couldn't life, for just one year, be kind to her? She wondered in dejection. What had she done to deserve this?

"Only in your dreams." She managed to drag the derisive words past her lips.

He chuckled then. The sound was low, stroking over her already inflamed nerves as he moved closer to her. She wasn't about to retreat. If she did, he would only follow her. If he followed her he would learn just how desperate she was to keep as much distance as possible between them.

"You have no idea, baby. Want me to tell you a few of them?"

He paused before her, his broad chest no more than inches from her. She fought to keep her breathing slow and even, but she was aware of the fact she was failing. As she knew he was. His head lowered as he watched her before he lifted his lashes, staring back at her suggestively.

"No." She shook her head, trying to turn from him. She didn't need to hear about his dreams. The temptation of his touch was too great.

"My favorite one…" He ignored her denial as his hand moved, his knuckles running lightly up her arm. "…is the one where I have you tied to bed as you beg me to please you. To make you scream. I would be more than happy to reenact it for you," he offered, with all appearances of polite consideration.

She should be outraged. Instead, Pogue stared back at him with shock. Oh yeah, she could envision that one all too well.

"That's quite all right, Pogue," she sniffed with as much dignity as she could muster amid the overwhelming hunger rippling inside her. "You can just enjoy your little perversions alone. God gave men a hand and five fingers for a reason, you know."

"Hmm. I know. And I know for a fact just how well I can please you with those fingers. Come to my roon, let me show you." Dangerous. Warning. His voice was like an addictive narcotic flooding her system despite the edge of fury she could see lingering in his gaze.

She opened her mouth to answer but before she could Kate came flying up and running into his arms. Squealing about the A she made on her art test.

Hannah stood still. Frozen.

Another woman's arms touched his face, caressed it, though he almost pulled back. Another woman's arms wrapped around his neck, and another woman snuggled against his chest. She was going to disintegrate into a million pieces. Shards and fragments of her soul would be found on worlds light-years from Earth before the pain completed its journey.

The pain was exploding in her brain, shattering her heart, nearly stopping it. She heard an angry sound of pain that she wondered if she might have made it herself. She wanted to smash her fist into Kate's perfect face. She wanted to tear all those perfect hairs from the woman's head. She wanted to howl in rage, fear and pain. Hannah couldn't breathe. Oh God. It hurt. It was knifing through her chest, shredding flesh and bone, and she was going to scream with the rage and the pain of it. Ragged, gaping wounds tore through her soul. She could feel herself bleeding from the inside out, ripping apart and not a sound was made.

"We will talk about that art project another time," she whispered to him, glancing at Kate. "Congratulations Kate." She backed away from Pogue. "I know you two need to"— she waved her hand helplessly—"celebrate."

She couldn't be stand here and watch. If she did, she would die. Right there, she would lose her will to live. She couldn't bear it. It hurt. Nothing— no desertion, no vicious words from cold, cutting lips— had ever hurt as this hurt.

She had to get away from him. Before she begged him. Before she pleaded with him, _Please don't pick her again. _

Last night he had sworn that he had been made to kiss her, to love her. Had spent the night curled around her, telling her how beautiful she was. And for a second she had fooled herself into thinking that maybe she was the one that he wanted after all.

She should have remembered, should have known it couldn't be real.

Pogue never did anything but play with her and then toss her away.

* * *

_**"Caleb you've been a naughty boy, haven't you? What would dear little Sara say?"**_

Caleb and Kelly shot awake at the sound of the unwelcomed voice.

Sitting up, Caleb forced her back, placing himself between her and the handsome man standing at the foot of the study room floor.

Kelly gulped when she saw the tall, blondish- brown haired man who glared at them as if he could kill them where they lay. A spark of recognition fluttered through her at the sight of him.

"Chase."" Caleb hissed with a warning note in his voice.

Hell's wrath burned across the strangers face and he smiled evilly. "The one and only brother. I'm having a strange sense of déjà voo. I think we already planned this game. Remember how it ends Caleb?"

Caleb snarled an launched himself at Chase, but it was too late. He had already vanished with Kelly.

* * *

A/n: And that's the end of this chapter. I hope that you enjoyed it and again I'm so sorry for the delay in updating.

Thanks for reading and I hope that you leave some feedback!

Dee.


	18. All These Things I've Done

**A/ N:**_ Since the last chapter of this story was posted I started law school. It's one of the hardest things I have ever done and I literally had no free time and no life since August 8th._

_Still ya'll have been sticking with this story, reviewing and sending me messages of encouragement and praise. I greatly appreciate it._

_In honor of the last day of class of my first 1L semester and before the start of finals, I sacrificed sleep and banged out this chapter._

_I hope that ya'll enjoy it._

* * *

"_Over and in, last call for sin_

_While everyone's lost, the battle is won_

_With all these things that I've done_

_All these things that I've done." _

– **All These Things That I've Done by The Killers.**

* * *

**Caleb felt the icy claws of panic dig painfully into his gut.** His heart pounding hard and fast. A primal roar of fury surged up from his chest, but he choked it down, determined to use his head and not let the panic take hold of him. But, God, it wasn't easy. He stood there in the middle of the library, paralyzed while his mind raced, all chaos and emotion, instinct and reaction. The pain in his chest was so sharp, so cutting, that for a moment he couldn't breathe…couldn't move. Then he exploded into action, running down halls, all eyes on him. By the time he reached Pogue. Caleb was nearly out of his mind.

He had to find Kelly. No matter what it cost him. God help anyone who was dumb enough to get in his way.

His mate was alone with Chase, vulnerable and unprotected. And if anything happened to her, he was going to find some way to make Chase pay.

Anger boiled through his veins. It was pungent and tangible. He wanted to rip something apart with his hands. It was a rage so raw, so powerful, that it controlled him completely. The pain inside him was so intense that he feared it would cripple him.

"What the hell happened to you?" Pogue demanded as he grabbed for Caleb. "What's wrong?"

Caleb struggled with the fury and worry inside him. The emotions were so strong he was sure he would have been able to use nothing more than his thoughts to level the school to its foundation. "Chase is alive. He has her."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, when Pogue's cellphone rang. Caleb doesn't know how he knew it was Chase, but he knew. The same way as Pogue knew. He could feel it in his bones.

"So predictable Caleb. I knew you'd go to Pogue first. Really. You are making this too easy on me. Put up a fight will you?"

"I will kill you Chase."

A laugh answered him " Are you missing her yet, Caleb?"

Caleb saw red. "Where is she?"

"Tell me, is it better to know love and have lost it or to have never known it at all?"

The phone went dead. Blind, torrid rage pierced him.

Caleb bellowed with rage. "So help me, I'm going to find that son of a bitch and rip his heart out."

Caleb was willing to lay down his life to get Kelly back and keep her safe—but what he wasn't willing to do was lose her.

Not now. Not ever.

* * *

**One moment, Kelly was laying on the study room floor, and in the next, she was lying in the cold mud on her on her back, in a half burned down barn.**

_What the hell was going on? _

Kelly tried to move, but couldn't. Terrified, she opened her mouth to scream.

"Don't bother," The handsome stranger told her as he approached her and positioned himself on his knees beside her. "You can't do anything unless I will it."

He ran one long, cold finger down her cheek in a gentle caress. "I can see why Caleb wants you. You have fire in your gaze. Intelligence. Bravery."

His eyes burned with hatred at the mere mention of Caleb's name. And Kelly trembled at his look. Terror consumed her, smothering her to the point that she couldn't breathe, could no longer even try to scream, nothing but a broken stream of dry, choking whimpers silently breaking out of her.

Terrified, she wanted to speak, but he kept her from it. He had complete power over her. The fact that she controlled her on his whim, scared her more then the fact that he could even do such a thing. He looked charming, sinister, and slightly mad. A demon prince with the face of an angel.

Kelly's eyes widened and another wave of fear washed over her as the stranger's eyes turned black as an unseen force pushed her up, setting her back against barn's wall. She realized that her heart was beating hard. Not fast, just hard. Bang ... bang ... bang, in the middle of her chest, shaking her insides. Her stomach heaved as she realized what was happening. He was playing with her, the way a lion cub might tease its prey before finally making the kill.

But this handsome stranger was no cub—and Kelly refused to be his plaything.

"Well, hello there pretty," he drawled. "By the way you can speak, now," he said as he moved to recline by her side.

"Stay away from me." She hissed.

"No can do, pretty. While Caleb is losing his mind, I thought we could enjoy a little private playtime." He moved closer, his mouth curled in a malicious smile, while his eyes glowed like golden embers of fire. "I've been looking forward to this, Kelly, You have no idea how much."

Kelly opened her mouth, and then snapped it shut. She was breathing in great shaking gulps, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Oh, I can't go spoiling the surprise pretty," he crooned his lip curled in cruel sneer, but she could see the burn of a darker emotion in the deep, smoky brown of his eyes. Jealousy burned harder than anger or fear or arrogance, blurring the edges so that only the source flared through, sizzling and sharp. "And we have more important things to keep us busy."

"Besides. The only other possibility is that I kill you. Better this way than that right?"

"You want to kill me?" She could hear the mounting hysteria in her own voice. She knew just knew, that if he wanted to he could kill her. One wrong move and she would die. Pure and simple. Kelly had always believed she'd experience a moment of clarity when this time came, facing her death, but only two truths filled her mind. She was going to miss Katie—and she wished she'd told Caleb how she felt.

He stared at her face a moment, and then let out a breath. ""Don't worry," he purred in a tone that all but dripped with venom. "You won't die. At least not yet. We just need to talk."

"You kidnap me to talk?" She said shrilly "You're . . . freaking . . . crazy!"

He gave her a wicked, laughing glance. His eyes looked hazel in this light, almost golden. "So I've been told."

Something flashed in the deep recess's of Kelly's mind. What was that thread of emotion she heard in his voice? Was it even truly there?

Loneliness?

She turned back to him, seeing more than the man standing so still and silent, his head raised high, his shoulders thrown back. His expression was cool, almost bland, but something in his eyes raged. They were predatory, yet filled with a sadness that pricked at her own heart.

There was something in his eyes that she had always recognized within herself. A need, hunger that no amount of food could ever fill.

For her, it was simply for a place to belong. What it was for him, she had no idea. She knew, though, that this handsome stranger had a good core, but had gone off course somewhere along the way. He wasn't the monster he wasn't pretending to be. He might kill her, that was true. But it wouldn't be without regret. The freezing wind made her teeth chatter. Or maybe that was just the biting cut of fear slicing through her system. Kelly knew Chase wouldn't hurt her—but she also knew better than to think that Chase was going to just let her walk away. No, he was going to play with her, use her to lure Caleb and then she was going to be forced to watch the man she loved fight for his life. She just knew it. Just as she knew in her bones that Caleb would win. She knew it. But she didn't trust Chase to fight fair.

She doesn't know why she said what she said next, the words just tumbled out of her mouth. "I can help you."

"Help me? Hell, pretty," he snorted, shaking his head. "Only you would talk about helping someone who was kidnapping you. Too pure of a heart. I knew it as soon as I saw you."

"I know you won't hurt me. But you're going to have to work with me, or your going to end up dead."

"And what makes you think that'd be a problem for me?" he asked with a slow, cruel smile, chuckling under his breath, the sound as sinister as it was soft.

But after a moment he spoke again. You can save the dramatics, we both know Caleb is going to kill me one way or another."

"No, he won't…" She said, the sound hollow…because she believed the same thing. "I can help you."

"It's too late." His mouth twisted, the hard cast on his face looking almost like regret.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to make sense out of what was happening—but it was too bizarre, like something out of a dream.

_Dream…. Dream… _

His foreboding words triggered something inside her –a memory of dream long forgotten. It was a dream with reaching hands in the twirling cyclone of her dormitory, with dire warnings that had the same haunting words.

"It was you, wasn't it?" she whispered, "You were the one warning in my dream."

* * *

**Sara's emotions careen between frustration and the churning, an achy feeling in her gut that she'd screwed something up.** But she doesn't know what that is. All she knows is that Caleb is pulling away from her. And, she's starving because of it. Starving for the emotional connection, the physical contact. All she wants is to feel that exhilarating rush of being in love. Colors were more intense, smells sweeter, food richer.

He simply made her life better. Made her feel important. She hated how pathetic that made her, but she didn't know how to fix it.

She couldn't change what she was. He was her first love and his blatant disinterest in her for the past few months, left her reeling.

She tried not to dwell on it, desperately trying to keep her mind blank. But it wasn't working. She just keeps replaying everything that's happened over the last few months, trying to figure out if she did something wrong. She wishes she was brave enough to reach out for what she wanted and hold on to it. Fight for it Caleb. Gnash her teeth and challenge anyone who tried to take it away from her.

But the thing she wanted was Caleb's heart, and how could she make someone love her? She didn't have to be a genius to know the answer to that timeless question: she couldn't. Love was either there or it wasn't. She couldn't "make" it do anything.

Taking a deep breath, Sara tried to force herself to nap. She needed the sleep badly. With her nightmares running rampant she was beyond sleep deprived and was finding it hard to concentrate on anything. And, with thoughts of Caleb taking up the only functional parts of her brain left she felt like was just sleep walking.

Katie practically forced her into their dorm room after she fell sleep in French, telling her " No offense, but those bags under your eyes are not attractive. Take a mental health day and Get some sleep hun."

Sara barely had in fight in her. She just gave in and took a long hot bath, thankful for the senior room upgrades. Community bathrooms were just ick. Now she's just lying on her bed in her comfy robe and trying to make her brain shut up.

But it just seemed so impossible of a task. Frustrated Sara rolls over and buries her head under the pillow. A few seconds later, the phone rings. Since Sara can't sleep anyway, she snatchs up the receiver from her night table, hoping that it's Caleb on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Sara?" asks a female voice.

"Yes. Who's this?" Sara sit up in bed and click on the reading lamp, noticing that she's alone, that Katie and Abby's beds are empty. The window on Katie's side of the room is open causing the window shade to knock against the ledge.

"Hello?" She repeats, still waiting for an answer. She can hear her breathe on the other end of the line. I sit up farther in bed and glance at the clock- it's 1 PM.

"Who is this?" I repeat. The shade continues to knock against the ledge, the frigid air pushing its way into the room, giving her chills.

"I know you're alone," she whispers.

"Katie?" Sara asks, wondering if this is her, if she's playing some sort of prank.

"You are alone, aren't you, Sara?" Sar scan the room, confident that the only view in is through the window- when the wind pushes the shade away

"I'm waiting ..." she says.

"Tell me who this is, or I'm hanging up."

"You wouldn't do that," The voice on the phone whispers.

But that's exactly what Sara does. She slams the receiver down on its cradle, her heart pumping hard. She takes a deep breath and chews at her bottom lip, wondering where Katie is, looking toward her bed for a note.

A few seconds later, the phone rings again.

Sara does her best to ignore it as best she can and climbs out of bed to check the door. It's locked. Sara turns toward the window. The shade flaps into the room, making her jump. She takes small steps toward it, wondering if someone's out there, if they can see her.

With trembling fingers, Sara reachs for the window to pull it down, but it seems to be stuck. Using both hands, she anchors herself in place and presses downward as hard as she can. Still, it won't budge. So she tries the window shade. She tries yanking it down even farther, but the shade slips from her fingertips and rolls up to the top, revealing a girl's face.

She stares right back at her.

Sara screams and jumps back before realizing that the reflection is her own.

Before Sara has a chance to regain her breathe a familiar voice whispers from just behind her. "I know you're alone," She can't quite place the voice but knows she knows it.

Sara steels herself in place, her heart pounding hard. She strains her eyes, trying to see something else in the reflection, but there's only her. After several seconds, she peeks over her shoulder into the room. No one's there. But the closet door is open a crack.

The phone continues to ring. Sara picks up the receiver and holds it up to her ear, wondering if the voice was just her imagination, if maybe she's just overtired.

Surely the closet door could have been open like that all along.

But she's almost positive that it wasn't.

"I know you're alone," the male voice whispers from the receiver. " How does that make you feel Sara?"

"Who is this?" Sara demands.

No one answers.

She drops the receiver and moves back to the door to leave. She unlocks it and goes to turn the knob. No go. She pulls at the knob and tries kicking at the door crack, but it's no use. She chokes back a sob.

Someone's locked her in from the outside.

She grabs the dangling receiver and goes to call campus police. She presses at the numbers but nothing happens. She can't get a dial tone- it's just dead on the other end. She hangs up and move to the window, hoping she can crawl out, but there's not enough space. Her arms shake, trying to pry the window open wider.

But it's stuck in place.

She whirls around, hearing a whimper escape out of her mouth. The closet door appears to be open even wider now.

Her heart was pounding, a light sheen of perspiration on her back. Her skin was clammy. Gathering her emotions, she pushed them down as far as she could, deep down, behind her soul. She stood there the metallic taste of blood already in her nostrils, her mouth. She closed her eyes, gathering her strength.

_Run!_

Her mind screamed, but she was compelled to move forward.

_Run!_

Her feet wouldn't stop moving forward, wouldn't turn back. She turned toward the closet, knowing before she opened the door what she would see. She smelled the blood, tasted it, breathed it into her lungs and gagged. Sara swallowed a sob and In one quick motion, Sara wraps her hand around the knob and whips the door open.

There, scribbled in red across the wall, are the words I KNOW YOU'RE ALONE. There are splotches of blood all around it, trailing down the wall. Her jaw quivers. Her breath stops. She can feel herself taking steps backwards, her hand clamped over her mouth.

The phone rings again a second later, making her jump. I move quickly to my night table to answer it. "Hello?"

"Sara?" says a female voice.

"You need to help me," I say. "Please- I need help- "

"No," she says. "You need to help."

"What?"

"He needs your help," she explains.

"Who?"

"The one with the X."

"What?"

"It's the rune for partnership. Your soulmate."

"Caleb needs my help?"

"Not him." The voice is shrill. "Your real partner. The one with the X on his neck."

Sara opens her mouth to speak, to deny it, she doesn't know about an X but nothing comes out. At the same moment, she feels it- someone's breath on my neck.

"I know you're alone," the male voice whispers into her ear.

She drops the phone and shakes her head, her heart beating faster. She turns to look. At the same moment, a hand reaches around her neck, cutting off her breath. The fingernails cut into her throat.

She goes to step back, to kick at his shin, like she was taught in her self defense class but he grabs tighter, cutting off her breath.

A moment later she hears a door slam shut- hard. The sound wakes Sara up out of sound sleep.

She sits up in bed with a gasp.

Katie is there, at the door. "Hey, you," she says, dropping her bag to the floor. "Hungry for dinner? I hear it's burrito night in the caf."

But she's still shaking.

"What's up with you?" Katie asks, taking one look of her and frowning. "You look like you swallowed a cockroach- maybe you've already been to burrito night."

"I don't-. I wanna _tell_ you _everything_, Katie. Believe me I've wanted to for months. But I gotta - I gotta take care of this first, okay?"

Sara bolted from the room as fast as her feet could take her. She was so absorbed with trying to figure out where Caleb would be it took her a few moments for it to sink in. A strange, unsettling sense of not being alone, which was odd, seeing as how she wasn't. The feeling grew, oddly disturbing, and she nearly tripped on an uneven bit of tile, even though she knew this hallway well enough to walk it in her sleep. Sara sent a furtive look over her shoulder, but there was nothing there. And yet, the feeling wouldn't go away, reminding her of the nightmares. The familiar feelings of helplessness, of vulnerability, coated her skin, sinking in through her pores until she felt steeped in them. By the time she reached the library building, her lungs hurt from holding her breath and her pulse beat out a hammering tempo that nearly jarred her brain. She tried to tell herself it was the paranoia as she hurriedly jogged into the basement of the library. The study room down there had been where Caleb was going these days when he was ignoring her. Sara took a deep breath through her nose…waiting for the panic to ease. She counted the seconds off slowly, willing that feeling of safety that to come. But there was nothing. Nothing but that bitter lump of fear sitting in the back of her throat, churning her stomach into a knot.

"Get a grip," she muttered, straightening her spine. But that lingering unease, wouldn't leave and she felt a cold, clammy chill crawl over her skin, her palms going damp and hot.

When she saw the light on in the last study room at the end of the hall, she was relieved. Caleb was there and she was perfectly safe. She tried to remind herself of that but feeling tightened, sharpening, until she feared that she wasn't alone, even though she'd seen no one.

The closer she got to the door the more panicked she became and was suddenly too afraid to move any closer. Every terrifying scene from every nightmare she'd suffered these past few weeks began playing through her mind. A deep, bone-jarring tremor shook her body like a frail, fragile leaf caught in the destructive fury of a storm. She heard the telltale creak of a floorboard. A sickening feeling slipped through her, like something sticky and wet sliding over her skin, sending her stomach into a roiling spin. Her breath stopped, suspended, held tight in her lungs. She whipped around but it was too late. She opened her mouth to scream, but before the bloodcurdling cry had clawed its way out of her throat everything vanished.

* * *

**Ripping his hands through his hair, Caleb struggled to control his temper as Pogue dragged him into the nearest empty classroom.** The dread in his gut turning into something ugly and dark. Something paced within the confines of his body, restless with fury, ready to break free then and there. A sickening wave of pain and shame slammed through him; so strong it would have taken him to his knees—if he wasn't already on them.

The need to be close to Kelly was literally killing him. Is this what his mother was talking about? She never said it would be this damn painful.

"Your only chance is to use the bond connection to find her." Tyler's low voice came from the other side of Pogue. Since when the hell did he get here?

"What the hell are you talking about?" Caleb rasped the fear in his gut so vicious, he felt ill.

" I read it in the book. The bond can be used for physical locations. If you open up the link, you should be able to pick up her signal like some kind of metaphysical radio beacon. Just stop panicking and focus. You'll know where she's gone."

The admission stuck in his throat like a boulder. "I…can't."

Reid poked out from beside Tyler and sent Caleb a dirty look. "You want her to die?"

Caleb snarled, passed the point for words.

"Then stop your fucking blubbering, grow some balls and get your women!"

He closed his eyes and summoned everything he had. The feel of her was one of anguish, as well as relief. Kelly was terrified. He could feel fear, her sheer horror, and the darkness inside of him snarled a sinister sound of outrage.

"Hang on." Caleb rasped, his deep voice urgent and low, one powerful hand clutching at Pogue who in turn grabbed Reid and who grabbed Tyler. It was instinct like they just knew what to do. One moment they were in the classroom and they next they were outside Putman barn.

"Don't bother to knock," Chase called out when they reached the dark mouth of the barns burnt down entrance. "We've been waiting for you, Caleb. Come in and join our little party."

With his heart in his throat, he stalked forward, his eyes adjusting to the darker, interior of the dank cave, Pogue, Tyler, and Reid at his back, fanning out at his sides. An unbelievable rush of relief nearly floored him at the sight of Kelly to their right. Her skin shone as pale and luminous as a ghost.

Chase sat on the top of a beam, his elbows resting on his bent knees. His hair was longer, the tangled length of his long brown hair slicked back from his narrow face. Beneath his sharp brows, his eyes were sunken, lifeless hollows.

Time held, silent and heavy, as he looked over at Kelly, making sure she was perfectly okay; Pogue stood at her left, and Reid moved into place beside him, while Tyler stood beside Reid. It was a show of support. If anything happened they weren't going to let Chase have her without a fight. With that in mind Caleb slowly turned back toward Chase, and in the next breath they exploded into action. With a savage growl of outrage erupting from his chest, Caleb rushed forward, seeing red—the whole scene taking place within a mere span of seconds. His rage burning hotter, more violently than ever before. Caleb knocked Chase onto his back, and then winced as the he countered with a roundhouse that whipped Caleb's head to the side, blood spurting from his nose. When another kick came at the right side of his head, he went down, his knees slamming into the ground with a bone-jarring impact. Sweat and blood streamed into his eyes, while relentless waves of pain rolled through him, threatening to take him under, sucking him down into that crushing state of darkness.

He could hear Chase circling him, feel the suffocating blackness of the Chase's hatred and rage lashing against him.

"You can't stop it, Caleb." Chase stared down at him, and smiled, his teeth smeared with streaks of crimson. "It's never going to end."

"There are so many pieces of this puzzle that you don't even know about." Chase's mouth twisted, eyes glittering burn of hate. "You can't win."

"You have no idea what you're up against. When they make their move, you will die, Caleb. All of you will."

Caleb shook his head, struggling to gain his feet, when a sound broke through the disorienting haze of pain that surrounded him. It seemed so far away, like someone shouting at him through water, and he couldn't make out the words. Then it came at him again, louder this time, battering against his consciousness with a blinding urgency—and suddenly he heard Kelly calling out to him, the sound of her voice making his blood surge.

"Don't kill him! He doesn't have a choice! He is just trying to save her!"

Chase sent her a sharp look of surprise and relief?

Before Caleb could process it a deep, guttural slash of sound rumbled in Chase's chest, full of anguish and pain. In the next instant, Chase screamed, stumbling forward, and then he went down hard on his hands and knees, his body jerking as if he were having a violent seizure.

Caleb slammed to a jarring stop, while senses already sharpened to precision revved into overdrive. A raw, wrenching sound of pain ripped out of Chase's throat, another hard wave of spasms racking his body. Blood poured out of his nose, and trickled from his left ear in a thin, meandering trail. Chase' body vibrated with outrage, but there was a pale cast beneath his skin, and Caleb could smell the acrid scent of his fear.

"Sara" Chase whispered had said in a low, ragged voice, and Caleb had suddenly realized how devastated the other man looked as he wanted to die at any second.

"What about her?" Caleb had blinked, unable to believe what she was hearing.

Chas swallowed, his complexion turning a sickly shade of green, before croaking, " Save her."

Before, Caleb could damn more answers there was flash and Chase simply disappeared.

* * *

**Ending A/n:**

_Again, I have high hopes that you enjoyed this chapter and it's long enough to appease after such a long delay._

_Much Thanks & Hope you review. _

_Dee._


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